Ole and Lena - who are they?

"Ole, you can go farther if ya vant to"....

Ole and Lena (also Sven and Ole) are central characters in jokes by Scandinavian Americans, particularly in the Upper Midwest region of the U.S., particularly in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota where Scandinavian immigrant traditions are common.

We thought actually that the most common names in Norway were Ole and Kari (at least one hundred years ago) but then, many of the names from Norway - like Oline, Oleane, Caroline/Karoline and Lina, Nikoline and so on, would be easier in english as Lena. Kari was often translated into Carrie or Caren.

A typical Ole and Lena Joke:

Ole and Lena got married. On their honeymoon trip they were nearing Minneapolis when Ole put his hand on Lena's knee. Giggling, Lena Said, "Ole, you can go farther if ya vant to"... so Ole drove to Duluth.