When choosing a baby name, parents may consider the name of a relative or searching a baby book for ideas. But what about looking through an Ikea catalog?
The Swedish furniture company is known for sleek, modern styles that ship flat and that you assemble yourself. It’s also known for using Swedish names instead of product numbers since 1948, according to The Associated Press.
“After all these years, (Ikea) has built up a large ‘catalog’ to pick from,” Ikea Norway said in a statement, per The Associated Press.
The names on the furniture typically come from geographical features, Swedish towns and lakes. For example, if you’re looking at a table, and the name is “malm,” it does not mean table. It actually means ore or rock. The Swedish word for table is “bord.”
While the number of babies being born in the United States, China and France crashed during the pandemic, the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland have maintained or increased birthrates, per National Geographic.
Norway experienced a 5% increase in the number of babies born in the country in 2020. It registered 52,979 babies in 2019 and 56,060 babies in 2020, per National Geographic.
Although retailers saw “both a shortage of raw materials and challenges with delivery times” during the COVID-19 pandemic, “there is at least no shortage of children” in Norway, Ikea Norway noted, per The Associated Press.
This isn’t the first time fans of Ikea have considered finding baby name inspiration from the store. In 2018, LucyBc wrote on the Baby Centre Blog that Ikea might have some ideas for parents still deciding on a baby name, Good Housekeeping reported.
“Naming your baby after Ikea furniture might seem ridiculous at first glance, but don’t dismiss the idea,” she wrote. “Ikea is known for the charming Scandinavian names it gives its products and many work surprisingly well as baby names.”