How would you name an area or Land?
- Thread starter Sellon88
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With difficulty. You really don't want to end up with names like "The Kingdom of Ghitunidia" or "The Dark Lands".
Generally, I'd try looking at real names for places and work from there.
EDIT: There's an nice article about this, part of a larger series about creating a game world:
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/ieXLOFKij6eMmNIwTcy.html
Generally, I'd try looking at real names for places and work from there.
EDIT: There's an nice article about this, part of a larger series about creating a game world:
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/ieXLOFKij6eMmNIwTcy.html
Well i certainly would not give it the name of some other place for no reason
*Glares with annoyance at Paris in Texas*
*Glares with annoyance at Paris in Texas*
Lots of place names come from a feature that they possess, or that the settlers hope they possess. Some come from an event. Some are named after deities. Some are named for the person who discovered them, or a member of the expedition in which they were discovered, and some are simply named in an attempt to ingratiate oneself with rulers or aristocrats. If you want to build a fantasy world the names have to have history behind them.
But that's a lot of work and time that I could be spending on things besides names, so I tend to name mine after features, after other places that share similarities, or after people. Taking things from other languages helps.
But that's a lot of work and time that I could be spending on things besides names, so I tend to name mine after features, after other places that share similarities, or after people. Taking things from other languages helps.
In terms of fictional or fantasy place names, I think many are named by combining certain word components of words which sound natural or believable when put together. So for instance, En-dor or Gon-dor, Valen-wood or Mirk-wood.
What I think good fantasy writers do though is to create some sort of logic behind the place name to help create back-story for the world they create, or use the sound of the place name to conjure up a certain notions or feelings about the place in the reader's mind. Tolkien was good at this- The Shire sounds like a nice pleasant place, his English readers would immediately associate the Shire with rural England, which is what Tolkien wanted. Compare though this place names like Mordor or Isengard, and both sound a little more sinister and malevolent.
What I think good fantasy writers do though is to create some sort of logic behind the place name to help create back-story for the world they create, or use the sound of the place name to conjure up a certain notions or feelings about the place in the reader's mind. Tolkien was good at this- The Shire sounds like a nice pleasant place, his English readers would immediately associate the Shire with rural England, which is what Tolkien wanted. Compare though this place names like Mordor or Isengard, and both sound a little more sinister and malevolent.
I think about the people I want to live there and ask what would they name it based on my ideas about them. For instance, in one campaign, I built an empire based on the Byzantines and Italian merchant republics. The names I came out with were based on one language, but they were all made to reflect the fiercely independent nature of the cities. The capital's name sounded nothing like the cities near the borders and the islands were chaotic while two city states huddled together up the coast were very similar. I also went back and added a few more names which would be terms adopted by cultures who only learned the name from other cultures. Like how in English, Germany is called Germany because of the Latin term for it. It ended up working rather nicely and was an easy way to add depth to the world.
I'm not very creative when it comes to names, but I would research the name I had chosen first. Had someone on this site once who was making a game or something and had named an area Drakeberg mountain... which means Dragon Mountain Mountain. Ugh.
I'd probably consider what type of environment there is and look at old names for real places that fit there for inspiration.
I'd probably consider what type of environment there is and look at old names for real places that fit there for inspiration.
That sort of thing happens in real life though. There was a QI episode where they talked about a place in Wales, which if all the components where translated from their respective languages to English meant Hillhillhill hill.DanielBrown said:
I seem to recall that episode!ClockworkPenguin said:
He who thought up Drakeberg Mountain wasn't aware of it though. He just thought it sounded cool, however I assume that's actually the origin of those tautological(aw yisss, Wikipedia) place names. A lot of Scandinavians, Dutch and Germans were somewhat annoyed in that thread.
Hmmmm, depends. I sometimes name things after people or after features of them. My current writing project is partially set in real places (or in fictional places linked to real places, such as a made-up unnamed island on Loch Lomond), and partially set in a fictional place (a city called Westford - for that I just thought of geographical features, it's in the western part of Northumberland and maybe at some point in its history was built around a ford across a river?). I did a fanfic a while ago based on Halo and named the ships involved after the naming convention the rest of the actual series uses - destroyers named after famous battles (Alamo, Stamford Bridge, Edgehill) and a carrier named after Queen Victoria.
Really, it just depends on what you're naming, and where you're going with it. I once had a city in a story named after the Greek goddess Persephone, and in the same story there was another city called Stormhold (it was meant to be in a stormy place in the far north). For the project I'm now working on the main character's address is at Haven Road, which was just a name I plucked from thin air, on High Hill (it's meant to be on a hill in the older part of the city) in Westford (see above). Her previous address, in Dublin, I literally stole from another character in Ulysses as a reference to James Joyce's classic...
Really, it just depends on what you're naming, and where you're going with it. I once had a city in a story named after the Greek goddess Persephone, and in the same story there was another city called Stormhold (it was meant to be in a stormy place in the far north). For the project I'm now working on the main character's address is at Haven Road, which was just a name I plucked from thin air, on High Hill (it's meant to be on a hill in the older part of the city) in Westford (see above). Her previous address, in Dublin, I literally stole from another character in Ulysses as a reference to James Joyce's classic...
either that or Bob. for Titan AE.Scars Unseen said:
planet bob, continent Bob, country bob, state bob, city bob, suburb Bob. ect ect ect
Don't underestimate the power of stating the obvious.
You know that canyon? The grand one? What's it called? Grand Canyon.
You know that state park? The one with the rocks? That form a slide? What's it called? Slide Rock State Park.
You know those mountains? The ones that are smokey? What are they called? The Smokey Mountains.
You know that canyon? The grand one? What's it called? Grand Canyon.
You know that state park? The one with the rocks? That form a slide? What's it called? Slide Rock State Park.
You know those mountains? The ones that are smokey? What are they called? The Smokey Mountains.
I would probably invent a word that trhymes with "orange", just to rewrite the book on poetry hahahaha
Very randomly since I'm good at making random names (well or so I thought when I typed the name out on Google) out of my head.
Just some examples of names that pop into my head right now-
Hydam
Cornowell (yes I know it sound similar to Cornwall.)
Ardiest
Just some examples of names that pop into my head right now-
Hydam
Cornowell (yes I know it sound similar to Cornwall.)
Ardiest
Ugh you beat me to it, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!Scars Unseen said:
It would generally be best to not randomly name areas, but to tie the name of each to a certain aspect of your world's lore. It doesn't have to be direct, but it would still be best to keep things simple (like how the pronunciation of "Detroit" separates the city's name from its original French meaning).