forum Someone Please Help Me Name My Fantasy World!!!!

Started April 20, 2022 by Kitsune

tune

I think it's pretty self-explanatory actually. My world has 3 countries, one mountainous, one savanna plains/deserty, and one foresty and mech. Speaking of, it'd be great if I could have help naming those too. Thanks to everyone who helps!

Ferus
Apparently it means Wild/Savage in Latin, not exactly sure but it sounds cool

I don't have any suggestions for names, but here are some tips that I've used:

• just mashing random syllables together until something sticks.
• Use a name generator (the one here is pretty good. But if you google something along the lines of "fantasy world name generator" there are lots of options)
• If you don't like any of the names the generator gives you, pick a generated name and tweak it until you have something that you like
• Pick 2 pre-existing country/city names and combine them.

@HeyBlueJay I don't think Ferus would work, but thanks for the suggestion. It sounds like it could be a great name for a character as well, so I'll hold onto it though.

@Starfast Thanks for all the tips. I'll use some and see if they help.

Name creation is quite arbitrary in real life, and tends to come from basic words put together.
What is the 'language' of the person who would be making the name?

I use etymology (origins of name meanings) to help me inspire naming, I go down that rabbit hole till I find something that sticks.

Go to https://www.etymonline.com/ and throw in some words that would relate to the way the inhabitants would refer to it.

If its a medieval european like fantasy world, I just plunder old languages that could fit in the setting, like Old English, celtic etc. You can even give different cultures different old languages!

What is the word describing? Is it the whole planet or just the known world?
Theres even old world names that mean 'known world' (Ecumene - in Greek) which isn't a name, but more of a description (the civilised world)

world (n.)

Old English woruld, worold "human existence, the affairs of life," also "a long period of time," also "the human race, mankind, humanity," a word peculiar to Germanic languages (cognates: Old Saxon werold, Old Frisian warld, Dutch wereld, Old Norse verold, Old High German weralt, German Welt), with a literal sense of "age of man," from Proto-Germanic *weraldi-, a compound of *wer "man" (Old English wer, still in werewolf; see virile) + *ald "age" (from PIE root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish").
Welt or Weralt? Verold?

A mountainous region?
kroykhasis - is Scythian for "the mountain", which inspired the Greek kaukasis, which became the Caucaus Mountains today

Savanna
"treeless plain," 1550s, from Spanish sabana, earlier zavana "treeless plain,"
Grasveldt (Grassfield mashed together from dutch Grass=gras / field=veldt)

You just need to decide which languages fit your setting, and what words you like together
Once you see enough word origins you may think Its how many words are formally made!
(Like Television! - Greek & Latin mashed together!!)