Kjell (kj) is a letter recently proposedThe letter kjell was introduced in the 3 March 2005 episode of the television programme Typisk norsk ("Typical Norwegian") on Norway's most popular TV channel, NRK1. for the Norwegian alphabet. It is a humorous proposal aimed at promoting what is considered the proper pronunciation of the Norwegian sound kj (or tj), which in most dialects is (like the ch in German ich), but has merged with (like English sh) for many speakers. The reason for "kjell" being a funny name for a Norwegian letter is that Kjell is a fairly common male nameAs of late 2005, according to Statistics Norway, there were 31,884 Norwegians named Kjell, making up nearly 1.4% of the male population.

Kjell is an old nordic name. The form "Kjell" became common during the 17th century and replaced the older forms Kættil or Kettil. The name probably means "helmet" and is related to "kettle".