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The Logic (Yes LOGIC) Behind Ikea’s Names

Yes, There is a method to the madness!

Items for the bathroom like Apskar (a wash basin), Toftbo (a bathroom mat), and Sanni (a bath sheet) are named after Scandanavian lakes, rivers and bays–that seems appropriate.

Stuff for kids is named after mammals, birds, and adjectives. So if you buy your children a Smyg, they’re getting a lamp named for a wren. And a child’s desk is Fartful, which of course means “speedy” in Swedish.

Chairs have men’s names like Roger and Joel and Luppio. And materials and curtains have women’s names like Rosali and Lenda and Ingert.

In lighting almost anything goes. The names come from all over the universe: music, chemistry, meteorology, weights and measures, days, months and the seasons. Hence names like Erbium, Cittra, Stratosfar and Troposfar.

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  • shana

    The moment I was satisfied with my decision to take Swedish in college: realizing that “sova”, the infinitve form of “sleep”, was also the name of the bed sheets I bought for college.

  • joe

    Well, in Germany the IKEA Kids-Bed “Gutvik” attracted some attention. It’s pronounced gutfick in german, which means good-fu ck. Maybe your kid was a result of just that…? if that isn’t logic, then what ?

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