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'Ola Nordmann' is a name for to the average Norwegian, a representative for the whole population in general.^[1]

Contents

Usage of the name Ola Nordmann

As a national personification

As a collective pseudonym

Etymology

Kari Nordmann

See also

References

Usage of the name Ola Nordmann

As a national personification

The media often uses "Ola Nordmann" to describe trends in the population.^[2]
For example: A headline in a newspaper that reads '''Norwegians consume less milk''' could be just as well read '''Ola Nordmann drinks less milk'''.
Caricatures of Ola Nordmann as a national personification of Norway usually depict him as a blond-haired man dressed in bunad-like traditional folk clothing and wearing a woollen red top cap - the traditional headwear of a Norwegian gnome or nisse. This character is meant to represent the Norwegian people as a whole.

As a collective pseudonym

Ola Nordmann is also used as a default name in examples used to guide people in how to fill in forms etc.(Similar to John Doe or John Q. Public).

Etymology

Ola is used as it is a common male Norwegian name and Nordmann is the Norwegian word for a citizen of Norway, so the literal translation of this personification is ''"Ola Norwegian"''.

Kari Nordmann

The female equivalent or variant is personified as Kari Nordmann, "Kari and Ola Nordmann" is often used together to describe the archetypical Norwegian family or household.

See also

★ Britannia

★ John Doe

★ John Q. Public

★ Joe Bloggs

★ Uncle Sam

References

1. Definition of Ola Nordmann from Nynorskordboka - Det Norske Samlaget - ISBN 82-521-5180-9
2. Forbruker.no May 2 2006 - Ola Nordmann has become a speculator ''- Article in Norwegian detailing how the number of private citizens trading stocks on Oslo Børs has skyrocketed in the last 12 months.'' - Referenced as an example of the media's use of Ola Nordmann as a national personification.