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Naming cities/places

Ryan_Crown

Troubadour
I've been struggling to come up with a good name for the main city for my WIP. Every time I think I have a good idea I do a quick Google search on it (too make sure it's not something someone else has already used), and sure enough, already taken. Even the random, made-up word I came up with turned out to be a Star Wars planet (go figure!).

My main problem is that I want a name that fits the feel of the city (a former pirate cove that has grown into a full-fledged port city, but still one mostly run by criminal gangs/thieves' guilds). So two questions -- firstly, anyone have any name suggestions. And secondly (and more importantly), how do other people come up with names for cities, towns, etc? I've never had a real problem coming up with character names, but when it comes to place names, I always seem to beat my head against a wall (and spend way more time than I'd like) trying to come up with a good, original name that fits the location.

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback!
 

Shreddies

Troubadour
Hmm.. Are you running a conlang in your world, or is it based off of a real world language, or just not mentioned at all?

Well, either way, since it is a port you can try naming it after a sea-animal (like Tortuga being Spanish for turtle). Or after a famous in-universe pirate or founder of the town/pirate-cove (something along the lines of Jack's Landing, Jacksonville, Jackson Harbor, Jack's Bay, and so on). Or even something benign like North Bay, being on a northern facing coast.

As long as it has a name that makes sense for a port, I don't think you'll have to worry about it fitting the current image of criminal activity. Place names tend to grow into their image as the story progresses.

I'd also recommend avoiding larger than life, pompous, and pretentious names, unless the town's founder enjoyed them (in which case, they might end up being shortened by the modern residents, anyway).
 

Ryan_Crown

Troubadour
So far I've stuck to real-world languages (big fan of Google translate in that regard -- when looking for names I'll often take an English descriptive word and run it through the various other languages until I find a word in another language that I like the sound of).

I do like the sea animal idea. That's one I hadn't thought of.
 

Gryphos

Auror
Well, you talked about it originally being a pirate cove. Therefore, I would imagine the city's name would be whatever the pirates originally referred to the place as. Maybe something with 'cove' in it? Or maybe 'wharf' or 'port'? Combined with the sea animal idea I'm sure you could come up with something. Cod Cove, Port Piranha, Shark Wharf, etc.

As to how I come up with names, often the way I go about it is identifying what real world culture I want them to linguistically be similar to. Then I just come up with a name in my head that sounds like it comes from that culture's language, throwing away ideas that sound silly or clunky to say. For example, there's a France-esque nation in my world called Lancille, and a Scandinavian inspired one called Anvark.
 

WooHooMan

Auror
Using actual names and words would be the way to go, I think. Just imagine the circumstance in which the place would be name and what kind of name they would give it. A notorious pirate hide-out would probably have been given a name by someone who is not a pirate and named the place something that made it sound dangerous.
A lot of famous pirate places used names based on Romantic languages.
"Cape Voleurs, Ventre de la Bête, Port Diffidare, Corsario City" or something like that
 

ThinkerX

Myth Weaver
Being as it was founded by pirates, and with a nod to Skip...

Sharkport. The sharks being both the animals and the original pirate ships. Also says something about the contemporary character of the city.

The Rule with names in general: keep it short and simple, or at least catchy.
 
Usually I go to google translate and translate a defining world to a less know language. (Aon, Anhain, Chean, Triur, Miaza, etc..) Of course, I change the word a bit to be easier to read, and I pay special attention to the apostrophes (Che'an).

Lately, I've being using Hebrew (Mibara, Naara, Esh, Mavet).

And personally I don't mind if the name is used somewhere else. At least if it is nothing something like Mordor, Arrakis, etc...
 

Ryan_Crown

Troubadour
Interesting to see all the shark recommendations, because the name I had decided on was Shark Bay. Of course, that worked for the early history of the city, but didn't feel like a name that would work for a larger, more established port city. So I decided that as part of the city's history there was a massive fire that almost completely wipes the city out (which also worked for other factors I needed for the city's history). The city is then absorbed into the nearby kingdom in exchange for help rebuilding. The new kingdom decides to rename the city (because, of course, Shark Bay does sound too much like a pirate port). For the renamed city, I went with Port Prosperity -- the idea being that the city eventually sees a serious decline, so that at the time the story takes place, there's an irony to the name because of how crime-ridden and treacherous the city is.

Thanks for all the feedback. It's amazing how helpful getting alternate viewpoints on something can be to stimulate your own creativity.
 

Maurice

Dreamer
I'll suggest one thing, If I may. It would be suitable if you name a city after a person's name or last name. For this subject, name the cove after a great pirate, Ex: Barnabas' Cove, Sharktooth's Cove. Be creative and let your mind go wild. :D
 

Gurkhal

Auror
How about, "Black Haven" as a name for the city? It could go back to its old place as a pirates' "safehouse".

Also when thinking of what kind of name I want to use its, for me, imporant to remember what kind of culture it is and why kind of thing I want to give my reader. And then I just have to chew through different ideas and modify them until I get something which I like. Although at times it will give an entirely wrong sense anyway.
 

Bruce McKnight

Troubadour
I tend to stick to logical practical names like Deerfield, Greenview, or Whiterock Bay, because in my world cities grow from villages and villages tend to be founded by simple people.

I think the key to naming in consistency. In Germany, for example, you get a lot of cities that end with "burg." If you had a lot of cities like the ones I listed above and then threw in one that ended with "burg," you should have a reason. Maybe it's the last city in a dying kingdom or maybe it was named to honor someone, but there should be a reason.

I also think it's interesting when cities have multiple names depending on who you ask. Maybe the original inhabitants of the town still refer to it as Crowspoint, even though Steven the Conqueror renamed it Steven's Point. Maybe the pirates call their hideout city Freeport while the neighboring commoners all call it City of A-Holes.
 

Warrioress

Scribe
Hi, i tend to make up names off the top of my head if i may rattle off a few that come to mind when i read your discription..
Craven Bay, Hydegold Port, Shinsilveran, Daggerhyde, Lastrook...


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