Any tips for coming up with place names?

[DAgent]

So I'm busy trying to come up with some names for a town in a pseudue medieval fantasy setting, but I'm not having much luck. Either I make up something very generic, or dull, or find there's a real world place with the same, or close enough name. Sometimes even all three or worse yet, after googling my ideas, it's very similar to an existing fictional place I've never heard of, and I do not want to end up accidentally using a name someone else has already created.

So, I want to know, are there any tricks people use to come up with original names for places, or even peoples names?

 

[Steve Harrison]

When I'm looking for interesting place names, I zoom in on an area of England and find intriguing names I can play with, like (just had a quick search) Cribbling Stubbs, Methley Junction and Sicklinghall, which might become Cribble Crossing, Methling Bridge or Little Sickling. I would then check google to see if those made up places exist.

Britain is good for medieval fantasy place names, I'm guessing, but the world map is full of ideas!

For people, my go-to resource is English lower division soccer players from the 1970s.

 

[THX1138]

I do a similar thing that @Steve Harrison does as well. I'll also look at old maps to see if I find some in Latin or in a more ancient language. Archeology journals or web sites are great for that too in regard to search other places around the world for town names.

 

[tinkerdan]

When I'm looking for interesting place names, I zoom in on an area of England and find intriguing names I can play with, like (just had a quick search) Cribbling Stubbs, Methley Junction and Sicklinghall, which might become Cribble Crossing, Methling Bridge or Little Sickling. I would then check google to see if those made up places exist.

I don't know; some of those names make me a Little Sicky.

I usually do a search after creating a name and then decide from that if it might be too much or just enough.

I have a character named Grant Tinker who had a cousin named Ulysses. Their mothers were being clever there with Ulysses Grant.
However there was a Grant Tinker in TV industry. (No relation--so I think it's okay).

 

[Mouse]

So I'm busy trying to come up with some names for a town in a pseudue medieval fantasy setting, but I'm not having much luck. Either I make up something very generic, or dull, or find there's a real world place with the same, or close enough name. Sometimes even all three or worse yet, after googling my ideas, it's very similar to an existing fictional place I've never heard of, and I do not want to end up accidentally using a name someone else has already created.

So, I want to know, are there any tricks people use to come up with original names for places, or even peoples names?

I tend to merge existing place names. Lots of villages near where I used to live are Something st. Something. I wanted to set part of a novel in a similar but fictional village, so I chose two places and merged them together. (Combe st. Nicholas and Cricket st. Thomas became Cricket st. Nicholas).

 

[DAgent]

I don't know; some of those names make me a Little Sicky.

I usually do a search after creating a name and then decide from that if it might be too much or just enough.

I have a character named Grant Tinker who had a cousin named Ulysses. Their mothers were being clever there with Ulysses Grant.
However there was a Grant Tinker in TV industry. (No relation--so I think it's okay).

Ulysses Tinker has a certain ring to it, assume they share the same surname of course.

 

[DAgent]

When I'm looking for interesting place names, I zoom in on an area of England and find intriguing names I can play with, like (just had a quick search) Cribbling Stubbs, Methley Junction and Sicklinghall, which might become Cribble Crossing, Methling Bridge or Little Sickling. I would then check google to see if those made up places exist.

Britain is good for medieval fantasy place names, I'm guessing, but the world map is full of ideas!

For people, my go-to resource is English lower division soccer players from the 1970s.

I did something similar once with a short story set on a spaceship where I gave everyone the same surnames, or just first names as certain well known Sci Fi actors, but put the characters in job roles that I felt the actors characters hadn't done.

 

[Ursa major]

medieval fantasy place names

Not far from Telford, one can find a Weston-under-Lizard (on the A5).

 

[Astro Pen]

You are almost always going to come across the invented name in a search but as long as it isn't a real (or already created) place you are good to go.
I guess generics like "Newtown" or "Seaport" are ok anywhere.
It must be reasonably convincing and not sound too contrived or obviously stating it's character, eg Bartertown, that is just lazy writing
I called the village in my first novel Brookingham. It felt real and English, but doesn't exist.

You might find inspiration in this list:

List of fictional cities

This list is of fictional cities: villages, towns, islands, and cities that do not exist in the world we know. Some Cities are inspired to what the setting looks like. Top — A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z — Story universes with multiple cities Academia - One setting within...

list.fandom.com

 

[Aknot]

The real world is always a great inspiration. I tend to start with a general idea of language, region or era to use as a base. While creating from scratch might sound like a good idea - and it sometimes is - basing it on the known makes it relatable.

For example, using middle-Eastern sounding names conjures certain images and Norse sounding others. Changing one with the other will throw the reader off. It’s a judgment call when to do it but in my view it should be used when it strengthens the story, not for the purpose of just being different.

A similar “risk” in mixing the familiar with the odd. Historically there have been melting pots (Rome, Constantinople etc), but mainly in terms of people, not places. Introducing a lot of names that clash in an area that is secluded (as much of the world has been throughout the ages) is one pitfall for reader believability. The same goes for mixing names from all kinds of cultures without thought.

Personally I create long lists of names (for people and places) and tick them off as I use them. If I set up several cultures at once, I have separate lists and work at making them distinct. The closer two or more are, the more I would let them blend. For me, at least, once I get going and have a dozen names down I get into a flow and can come up with dozens more pretty quickly. It’s like finding out the formula and then letting it flow.

In short: I agree with the above suggestions of using names and altering them, but a preliminary step is, in my view, to have a rough idea of how the names should sound. I want to surprise a reader part of the time, but for much of the text I would rather lean on what the reader probably knows already so that the fantastical or odd can stand out more.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

Wordsearches often have strings of meaningless letters that look as thought they could mean something. I keep meaning to collect some.

 

[Steve Harrison]

Not far from Telford, one can find a Weston-under-Lizard (on the A5).

That name is enough to inspire an entire novel!

 

[DAgent]

Not far from Telford, one can find a Weston-under-Lizard (on the A5).

Was it the site of a massive worm put down by a brave knight in ages past?

 

[DAgent]

You are almost always going to come across the invented name in a search but as long as it isn't a real (or already created) place you are good to go.
I guess generics like "Newtown" or "Seaport" are ok anywhere.
It must be reasonably convincing and not sound too contrived or obviously stating it's character, eg Bartertown, that is just lazy writing
I called the village in my first novel Brookingham. It felt real and English, but doesn't exist.

You might find inspiration in this list:

List of fictional cities

This list is of fictional cities: villages, towns, islands, and cities that do not exist in the world we know. Some Cities are inspired to what the setting looks like. Top — A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z — Story universes with multiple cities Academia - One setting within...

list.fandom.com

Brookingham sounds like it might have a few secrets to keep, and a pub that serves nothing but real ales.

 

[Wayne Mack]

Why the concern with having a place name that duplicates a real place, especially if it is obscure enough to require an internet search to find?

 

[Ursa major]

Why the concern with having a place name that duplicates a real place, especially if it is obscure enough to require an internet search to find?

One could almost be tempted to have names such as New Minastirith (with the missing space in the name being due to ignorance on the part of those that chose it... and don't ask how it might be pronounced), Crobuzon and Queens' Landing.

 

[DAgent]

Why the concern with having a place name that duplicates a real place, especially if it is obscure enough to require an internet search to find?

It's not really a concern about using a real place, more a concern about creating a made up place, then finding that that very madeup name is already in use by someone else in their work.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I think that if you have several place names then it's important to have them sound similar. For example you would want to have one town called 'Trondheim' and the neighbouring village called 'Walmington-on-Sea'.

As has been mentioned, grab a map of towns/villafes in a county/state, and mash up their names. Or choose a surname and add 'ton' or 'ham' or 'pool' or 'chester' or similar on the end.

You also mention that you don't want something generic or dull, but to make it more authentic or realistic, you probably should.

 

[sknox]

I think this is a worry over a non-issue, especially once you realize it extends to character names as well. Much larger concerns includes things like getting the dang thing written.

 

[Laura R Hepworth]

I think the concern over creating a fictional name only to find out it already exists is really only an issue of the other place using that name is fairly well known. I sometimes fall into that trap as well, but, yeah, I think so long as you aren't accidentally duplicating a name from something like Star Wars you'll be fine.

As for tips coming up with names, this is another place where keeping a writing journal can be handy. Then, if you come across a name you find interesting you can record it for future consideration. Even your misspelling/misreading of a name can be a source of inspiration.

For me, I consider the setting, I pick a letter, how long I want the name to be, whether it's one word/two words/etc., and then just make something up and double check it isn't too close to anything of notoriety that already exists or to something that has a meaning/association attached to it that I don't want. If it's for a story set in some form of our world, then for character names looking at things like censuses can be helpful (especially for historical settings), plus I have some sites for names and their meanings bookmarked that I like to consult until I find something that suits. Names aren't something I generally struggle with when writing.