50 years of Swedishness at home
For 50 years, Canadians have been making their homes a little more Swedish without even thinking about it. Many people have a FJÄLLBO in their living room—but very few of them know what FJÄLLBO means.
So we're celebrating our 50th anniversary in Canada by showcasing the uniquely Swedish meanings the names of IKEA furniture have. Meanings like "mountain dweller" or "great dandelion" or even just "snails".
STORKLINTA
Swedish for great dandelion.
IKEA for 6-drawer chest.
Product names are more than labels – they’re part of our identity
There’s only been a few people in our history who have had the responsibility to name products. Starting with Ingvar Kamprad, our founder himself.
Ingvar had a hard time remembering numbers so he thought having a product name would be better; having a name to a product adds emotional value and uniqueness to it.
From BILLY bookcases to KLIPPAN sofas
The products get their names from different groups of words. Some examples: textiles are given Scandinavian girl’s names, bed textiles plant names, and upholstered furniture Swedish place-names.
BILLY: The name of our iconic bookcase was inspired by a real person: Billy Liljedahl, who was head of advertising for in the late 1970s.
KLIPPAN: The name comes from Klippan municipality in southern Sweden. We follow a naming convention where upholstered furniture is often named after Swedish place names.
Sometimes choosing a name is pure detective work
The search for new names means running through dictionaries, websites, crossword dictionaries, atlases, announcements in the births column, and place-name lists. With 10,000 articles in the range, of which a certain percentage is replaced every year, it is important to have everything under control.
Each product name is reviewed by hand, one by one!
It’s patient work, done with both heart and precision.
product names
product names
product names
Say it like a Swede
IKEA product names can feel like your tongue has been invited to a Swedish obstacle course!
Did you know the IKEA app can play the proper Swedish pronunciation of our product names? Just click on the speaker icon on any product information page.
Now, you can finally say your furniture’s name with confidence instead of inventing a new dialect!
The IKEA story
Learn more about our heritage, what drives us today and the ways we seek to positively impact people and planet.
IKEA 50th anniversary challenge
September 14 – October 25, 2026
What is a MAMMUT? It’s both! Celebrate 50 years of IKEA in Canada by putting your Swedish name knowledge to the test. Take our quick true or false quiz for a chance to win one of five $500 IKEA gift cards.* Log in to your account to play!
Plus, you'll collect 1 point with rewards from IKEA Family just for logging in to your account. Not a member yet? Join now and collect 5 points.