May 3, 2023, 2:13 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
When you think of Ikea, you automatically think of the sometimes unusual names of the furniture pieces. But how are they actually assigned, and what do they mean? myHOMEBOOK explains.
“Billy,” “Malm,” “Östanö”–as you walk through the Swedish furniture store Ikea, you encounter quite a few quirky names. They are often hard to pronounce and sound made up. Yet every piece of furniture and every decorative item has a different name–and the choice is not random. Ikea has a concept for selecting the various names. You can read about what this looks like and how the product names for the furniture are chosen here.
Why There Are Names and Not Numbers
Unlike other companies, Ikea does not use complicated number combinations for its products. Instead, furniture, textiles, and decorative items always get their own name. This has advantages for both employees and customers. Employees don’t have to remember long number combinations and can simply search for the name in the computer system–customers can, for example, just provide the name when they have questions.
Also interesting: This Ikea furniture causes the most stress during assembly
The Concept Behind Ikea Furniture Names
The product names at Ikea are not assigned randomly–there is a sophisticated concept behind them. According to Ikea, two employees in Sweden are responsible for this. They draw inspiration mainly from their surroundings, adopting names from road signs, but also from maps, dictionaries, thesauruses, or reference books.
However, not every name fits every piece of furniture–there are rules for that too. For example, desks and chairs always have male names, while fabrics and curtains always have female names. For kitchen items, the name usually describes the function of the device in Swedish. Ikea assigns names according to this concept:
- Garden furniture: Swedish islands
- Bathroom items: Scandinavian lakes, rivers, and bays
- Children’s items: Adjectives, animals
- Fabrics and curtains: Female names
- Desks and chairs: Male names
- Rugs: Danish place names
- Beds and wardrobes: Norwegian place names
- Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names
- Bookshelves, sofas, and coffee tables: Swedish place names
- Bookshelf series: Professions
- Lamps: Terms from music, chemistry, or meteorology
Before a piece of furniture gets a new name, it is thoroughly checked to ensure it is not a protected name. Additionally, this ensures that the name does not mean anything offensive or similar in other countries.