Gonk vs Gnome vs Tomte vs Nisse: What's the Difference?

The quick comparison

What is a gonk?

A gonk is the British name for the soft, bearded Christmas figure with a long hat over its eyes and a round nose peeping out. The look comes from Scandinavian folklore, but the name comes from a furry 1960s British toy. Read more in what is a gonk?

What is a gnome?

The word "gnome" dates back to the 16th century, when the Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus described earth spirits he called gnomi. Over time, gnomes became the small, bearded, pointy-hatted characters of European fairy tales.

Garden gnomes came later. They became popular in Germany in the 19th century, when potters began making them from terracotta. In 1847, Sir Charles Isham brought a group of gnome figures back from Germany to his garden at Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, which is often credited with starting the British fashion for them.

The key visual difference is the face: a garden gnome looks at you with rosy cheeks and a smile. A gonk keeps its eyes hidden.

What are the tomte and the nisse?

In Scandinavian folklore, the tomte (Swedish) and nisse (Norwegian and Danish) were small, elderly, bearded spirits that lived on farms. The Swedish name comes from "tomt", meaning the plot of land a house stands on, so a tomte is roughly "the one who lives on the homestead". The origin of "nisse" is less certain; one common explanation is that it comes from Nils, a Scandinavian form of Nicholas.

Folk tales describe them as hard-working guardians of the animals and household, but also short-tempered and easily offended. Leaving out porridge with butter on Christmas Eve was the way to keep them on side. In the 19th century they became tied to Christmas as the jultomte and julenisse, and today they bring presents in Swedish and Norwegian tradition. The history of gonks tells the full story.

Why do the British call them gonks?

In the 1960s, London inventor Robert Benson created furry, egg-shaped toys called gonks, which became a craze. When Scandinavian-style Christmas figures arrived in UK shops decades later, the old name was borrowed for them. Nobody seems sure exactly who started it, but by the Christmas of 2020 "gonk" was what everyone in Britain called them.

Other names around the world

• United States and Canada: Christmas gnomes, Scandinavian gnomes, or tomte.
• Germany: Wichtel or Weihnachtswichtel, small helpful sprites.
• Finland: tonttu, and the Christmas elf joulutonttu.
• Netherlands: kabouter, the Dutch word for a gnome.

What about elves, pixies and trolls?

Gonks get mixed up with several other small folklore figures. Here is how they differ:

• Elves in modern Christmas stories are Santa's helpers, usually shown as young, beardless and dressed in green. Gonks are older-looking and bearded. (Confusingly, the Finnish joulutonttu is often translated as "Christmas elf".)
• Pixies come from the folklore of south-west England, especially Devon and Cornwall. They're usually pictured as small, mischievous and pointy-eared, without beards.
• Trolls in Scandinavian folklore are large, often unfriendly creatures of the mountains and forests. The bright-haired "troll dolls" of the 1960s are something else again.

How to spot the style when shopping

Shop listings use all these words loosely, so look at the picture rather than the name:

• Gonk style: eyes hidden, hat right down to the nose, big fluffy beard, soft fabric body. Usually described as a gonk in UK shops.
• Tomte or nisse style: often with a visible face or eyes, grey or red knitted clothes, sometimes holding a lantern or a broom. More traditional and often made from natural materials.
• Gnome style: visible face with rosy cheeks, smaller hat, often ceramic or resin, usually for the garden.

Does it matter which word you use?

Not really. If you're shopping in the UK, "gonk" will find you the soft, face-hiding Christmas figures. If you want something closer to the folklore originals, search for "tomte" or "nisse". If you want a garden ornament, "gnome" is the word.

Explore the types of gonk, find out where to buy them, or look up more words in our gonk glossary.