Worst fantasy names in our Real World

[1Mac]

Once we translated the original meaning, we have a lot of Hill Hill and such. We also have the Black Forest, at least two Great Rivers, The Sea in the Middle of the Earth, the Islands of the Dogs, the Mountains of Fire, possibly one Land of Rabbits, the Land of the White Skins, and a lot more.

Sadly no Mount Doom that I know.

Reminds me of this: The Atlas of True Names.

Fun and evocative, though apparently controversial among etymologists and other word nerds.

 

[TarionzCousin]

My English friends always enjoy seeing "Wankers Corner" on our local city maps.

 

[Perun]

When Austrian cartographers came to Dalmatia (then a kingdom under Austrian rule), they asked the locals for the names. Slavic (Croatian) speaking locals gave funny names to the german-speaking Austrians, so today we've got islands like Babina Guzica (Old woman's or Grandmother's or Hag's Arse), Kurba Velika (Big Whore) and Kurba Mala (Little Whore). These are the three that are commonly mentioned, but there are others. Speaking of baba, in the Vukovar-Srijem County of Croatia, there's a whole municipality named Babina Greda (Grandmother's (Wooden) Beam.

Dalmatia also has it's very own Long Island (Dugi Otok), but also the Naked Island (Goli Otok). On the island of Ugljan (which resembles the croatian word for charcoal, ugljen, but is not derived from it) is the town of Preko (Across), since it sits right across the city of Zadar. Also in the Zadar archipelago are the islands of Big Little Fig (Vela Smokvica) and Little Little Fig (Mala Smokvica).

On the island of Ciovo (Čiovo), there's a place called the Shire (Okrug). Around Split (whose name derives from (ancient) Greek Aspalathos, meaning Spanish broom (a shrub, Spartium junceum)), there are places like Dearwaters (Dragovode), Longfield (Dugopolje), Underside (Podstrana, actually meaning Under the Side of the Mountain), Little Villages (Selca, on the island of Brac), The City of Seven Castles (sedam Kaštela), etc.

Montenegro's capital is called Podgorica, meaning (The City) Under the Little Mountain, and driving along the coast from Budva to Bar, one passes through a village called Jumping Girl (Skocidjevojka).

These are just the ones I could think off the top of my head

Regards.

 

[Pickles JG]

Locally we have:-
Stone
Salt
Acton Trussel
Abbots Bromley
Bishops Offley
Rough Close
Bodymoor Heath
Mavesyn Ridware
Tittensor

I think lots of fantasy aims for quaint Olde Englishe & is about as succesful at coming up with good ones as as the old English were.

My favourite is Stow Longa which is not local

 

[Hella_Tellah]

Just try naming a place in one of your campaigns the way the Japanese do:

熊本 Kumamoto: Source of Bears
福岡 Fukuoka: Lucky Hill
長崎 Nagasaki: Long Peninsula
東京 Tokyo: Eastern Capital
京都 Kyoto: Capital City
大阪 Osaka: Big Hill
横浜 Yokohama: By the Beach
広島 Hiroshima: Wide Island
本州 Honshu: Original Prefecture
九州 Kyushu: Ninth Prefecture
北海道 Hokkaido: Northern Sea Route

 

[HalfOrc HalfBiscuit]

Locally we have:-
Stone

... (other stuff snipped)

Stone immediately sprang to my mind as one of the great banal names of the UK. We have loads:

Bushey
The Isle of Dogs
The Lake District
Newcastle
Wells
Sevenoaks

As for "scoff at the DM" names in my area we have:

Thrupp
Brill
Ickford
Slapton

 

[hafrogman]

Along the same line as fifty different Springfields and Kansas City, KS, you've got to blame lazy DM syndrome for all the "new" and homage cities.

DM: You set sail out from York, bound for the distant colonies where the king has set your task.
Player: What's the name of the colony?
DM: Er ... NEW York.
Player: *roll eyes*

DM: After months of dusty travel, you find yourself in a desolate frontier town. A weather worn sign hangs over the road proclaiming that you have arrived in Paris.
Player: *checks notes* Wait, wasn't Paris that huge cosmopolitan city where we defeated that corrupt Cardinal and helped out those three soldier chaps?
DM: Er, yes. That was Paris, France. This is Paris, Texas. Totally different.
Player: *roll eyes*

 

[Seonaid]

Arundel, Morpeth and Aspatria are quite serviceable fantasy names, maybe a little dull.

Arundel is an NPC in Icewind Dale.

As someone mentioned upthread, a lot of native American names are kind of ridiculous--it's amazing how many people mispronounce Macungie (where I'm from)!

 

[Terry DM]

I live in REGINA (the capitol city of the province of Saskatchewan, in Canada) ... and needless to say, we get teased about it all the time because it rhymes with ... well, you know what.

 

[Seonaid]

I live in REGINA (the capitol city of the province of Saskatchewan, in Canada) ... and needless to say, we get teased about it all the time because it rhymes with ... well, you know what.

What does "ruh-GEE-nah" rhyme with?