Chapters/Etiquette & Business Pleasure

Using Titles and First Names

How egalitarian culture shapes how Norwegians address each other in business.

8 min readUpdated January 2025

As you start to work in Norway, you'll notice things are a bit different with regard to names. First of all, there aren't that many unique names in Norway.

I remember trying to remember a business contact whose name started with "J." I responded, "I know 10 people named Johan, 6 people named Jonas, and 5 more guys named Jonah" — which didn't help us remember.

Titles Are Not Used

In Norway, titles are also not used very often as most business environments are casual in nature. Additionally, to use flashy titles as a means of impressing colleagues is discouraged, lest anyone individual try to assert themselves as more important in the organization.

Yes, I'm talking to you Brad Braderson, Senior Vice President of Regional Sales and New Product Development Asset Manager. In Norway, you're just Brad and that's perfectly all right. Save the long titles for the business card.

Avoiding Mr., Mrs., Miss

Both in business and in personal interactions it is best to avoid using "Mr.", "Mrs." and "Miss" courtesy titles. This is considered too formal in almost every type of setting. Also, in Norway one's personal relationship status is not really the business of others.

Exception: Royalty

One exception where titles are required is when referring to the members of the royal family of Norway. Even in an extremely egalitarian culture, it's good to be king! They are always referred to as "King", "Queen", "Crown Prince" and "Crown Princess".

Key Takeaways

✓Titles are rarely used—everyone goes by first names
✓Avoid Mr., Mrs., Miss—it's too formal
✓Don't brag about your past titles and positions
✓Exception: Always use proper titles for royalty

About the Author

Sean Percival is an American venture capitalist and author living in Norway. After failing spectacularly to expand a Silicon Valley venture fund into the Norwegian market, he collected his lessons learned into this guide to help others succeed where he initially stumbled.