Names of places?

[Buttercup]

I have a selection of foreign language dictionaries. For the place names in one region, I'll use words from the same dictionary. Rivers, forests, towns, swamps etc will all be translations of simple words. So for example, a city in a valley might be Poculum (Latin for Goblet) while the dark, scary forest might be Timio Wood (Latin for Fear).

The other method I use is to go to one of the many name generators on the web and keep running lists of names until I see something that I like.

 

[Sidran]

I tend to take names from cultures I like like Viking, and Celtic names, or I find some of the things that come in the names such the Ll of the welsh language, and then put into somethingelse to make it sound good for instance I have successfully used Ll in the Llanwood, and Llyranorn two features on my homebrew.

I also am a fan of using true place names like The Three Maidens, Or Dardanelle, Noord, Trave all rivers, or the city Dordrecht.. I usually find links online that lead me to these place names.

And lastly I make it up and then warp it around till I like it.
Examples of this are Siunardach-Kar, Grale, Aryandë, Naul, and Torh-Nahathas. Races on my world are effected to like The Dhor, and Sindaran.


One last technique I use surf maps for unique names ( Usually looking in the same climate as the one on my world, and then using those names. I try not to use to recognizable names like London, Paris, Venice and the such but hit upon those obscure names such Niemes, Ushant, Donbarden, Eindracht, Sakara. I think the only one I have ever used that is easily Identified is Anchorage .

 

[Sidran]

Oh Ive also been known to take names from the bible ( as in the book of genesis) and I love the appendix in the Simarillion not that I use it much but it gets the juices flowing

 

[Sidran]

A small Irish place names site

A site worth keeping

The Latin Place names site

California Place names site hey its were I am from

Place names of Europe

Historical Cities w/ Maps Real nice site

A Fantasy Map making site with some stuff about naming

One last good Irish place name site

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

You Rule Sidran! Thanks for the links!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Maraxle]

I do two different things. First, for major places, I use names that pop into my head. They might be combinations of words, combinations of word roots, or complete nonsense. For minor places, I have a name generator I threw together with bits and pieces of names of towns and cities I run across (on maps, when traveling, in the newspaper, etc).

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I use a Cherokee/English dictionary for one of my world's cultures. I use the Cherokee as a base and then change it a bit to make it a little easier for English speakers.

http://www.wehali.com/tsalagi/

 

[Mallus]

Steal and make up...

For a long running homebrew --13 years and counting-- I stole a few exotic sounding names for real world sources:

The cities of Narcoriel {from a book on magic by A.E. Waite. Supposedly the name of an angel}, Orissa and Paradla {either Indian cities or place names}. An expensive resturant in a theocratic city called The Throne of the Third Heaven {from a piece of outsider art}. A demon lord named Gabriel --forgive the cheap irony, I was young...

Other than that, the standard odd-but-not-too-odd fantasy syllables and phrase names: Lassivander, Mirovar, and Saroval {port cities}. Rexrelis's, the most expensive resturant in the known world. The Sea of Grass --grasslands, who would have guessed?. The Spiral and South Spiral Clusters {island groups}.
The Harvest Plains --blessed by a Goddess after a cataclysmic magical battle that reduced a few hundred miles of surface to bacteria-free ash.

Plus the obligatory lazy smattering of language-making. A handful of syllables to use as root-words for compounds. "kel"=thousand, "il" or "iel' for sun/star, "ra" for water/life, "ran" for lake or ocean. As in Elias Keliel -- "Elias of the Thousand Stars", a demon who once offhandedly threatened to stop the worlds rotation.

Sorry, haven't played this one in a while, and I miss it.

 

[DM with a vengence]

I like to use the index and maps included in the Song of Ice and Fire series.

If you stick to minor characters and places (unless your players are obsessive George RR Martin fans with good memories) they'll never find out.

 

[Krail Stromquism]

NAMES FOR PLACES

I always start by thinking about an equivelent real word culture, then I go and eat a bunch of that cultures food, during the meal I will drink heavily of native alcoholic beverages and other substances and during the entire ordeal have a Scribe present to take down all the words I may utter, or other sounds that escape from my body. This is the only sure fire way to get distinct, original names.

My party loves adventuring in the Frrrebleplop Mountains!

Give it a try.