Comming up with a name for a fantasy world; how do you do it?

[Astner]

The problem with naming a whole world, especially a multicultural one, is that each of your various cultures will probably have their own name for the planet assuming linguistic diversity. I don't want to privilege one of my cultures over the rest by choosing their name for the world.

You don't have to name every location in every language, just the main one. Smaller cultures are probably very limited in their understanding of the world.

 

[Mindfire]

The problem with naming a whole world, especially a multicultural one, is that each of your various cultures will probably have their own name for the planet assuming linguistic diversity. I don't want to privilege one of my cultures over the rest by choosing their name for the world.

Well presumably all of those diverse languages have a common orign, right? That is, assuming all of your cultures have a common origin. If that's the case, their name for "earth" could be a legacy word that's been passed down from that ancient common language and is now rendered only slightly differently in their various dialects.

 

[Snowpoint]

Earth = Dirt. The world is just a thing you stand on. And you stand on dirt.

The main world in Magic: the Gathering is Dominaria. Long story short, Dominaria = Song of the Universe. Refering to the main world as the largest and most important there is.

So there are a couple of ways to name your world. Use Real Languages, or made-up ones. The names of places isn't the most important thing.

Name your planet Sluggmaggot until the first draft is finnished, and then change it.

 

[Zero Angel]

The problem with naming a whole world, especially a multicultural one, is that each of your various cultures will probably have their own name for the planet assuming linguistic diversity. I don't want to privilege one of my cultures over the rest by choosing their name for the world.

What's wrong with having multiple names? Just have the name that the cultures you are following use. For instance, I have that dragons named the world. Since they were alive before the creation of the world, this name became pretty pervasive. They named it IIo. This name has been adopted throughout the younger races of the planet, typically written as "Ao".

When the elves invaded from their universe, they called the new world "true home", which in their language was written, "Faeritas" which eventually devolved to "Aerth". When their slave race (the humes) overthrew their race, they started calling the planet "Earth".

To the dwarves, which came into existence as the planet's natural reaction to the invasion of the outsider elves, they also adopted the word "Earth" but used it strictly to refer to the physical constitution of the planet--i.e. dirt and rocks and so forth. For the planet itself, dwarves call it "Wochirden", or basely, "Wochan". This is the name (formal and familiar forms respectively) of the eternal, internal star of the planet that is their chief deity.

In fact, dwarves will usually argue that the came up with the word "earth" and the elves perverted it for their own use. Nowadays, the elves only call their chief continent "Aerth" and when they speak of the world itself, they speak of Ao. When a dwarf uses the word "Ao", they are either bowing to the customs of other races (rare) or they are referring specifically to the universe that houses Wochirden.

When dragons (or demons) speak the undiluted versions of their true language(s), a single word can fill up a book with meaning. Their languages is (are) ultra-condensed (ultra ultra ultra). "IIo" is usually translated as "The Last Sanctuary", but it has a plethora of other denotations and connotations.

 

[Mindfire]

I have that dragons named the world. Since they were alive before the creation of the world, this name became pretty pervasive.

Space dragons?

 

[Vidar]

The problem with naming a whole world, especially a multicultural one, is that each of your various cultures will probably have their own name for the planet assuming linguistic diversity. I don't want to privilege one of my cultures over the rest by choosing their name for the world.

Actually that is kind of a central premise to my idea, the ruling class as it where with supernatural abilities and knowledge....

 

[Astner]

Space dragons?

I think he means that the dragons were more abstract entities before they took the form of what's now known as dragons.

 

[Chime85]

well why not a combination of sounds. Surely at some point in history, these three species have contacted each other? I personally imagine one of the first things they wanted to get out of the way was to talk about the name of the rock they were standing on.

Now consider that this:

The problem with naming a whole world, especially a multicultural one, is that each of your various cultures will probably have their own name for the planet assuming linguistic diversity. I don't want to privilege one of my cultures over the rest by choosing their name for the world.

is likely to have happened before the big three got together, perhaps consider what each species would call earth, then combine that idea.

silly example, but:

Humans (H), Vampires (V) and warewolves (W);

H=dwelling
V=surrounding
W=hunting grounds

why not a mix, eg: Swends.

Very silly and primitive example, but you get where I'm driving at, surely, please..... lol. Make a decision of a name for the planet and create a mixture to determine a common cause. You said they communicate, use that as a solution instead of a problem

 

[JacobMGibney]

In my universe the Gods name the planet, (there are many Gods and many human inhabited planets) and the one I'm working on is called Varsule It makes it easier for me this way at least, the name doesn't really have to have any real meaning!

 

[Zero Angel]

Space dragons?

I think he means that the dragons were more abstract entities before they took the form of what's now known as dragons.

I guess space dragons is the most apt way to describe them...I guess--although they're really from another universe. Here's the quote from a "history of the world" document I wrote a few years back for my own reference:

In the beginning, there was magick. In every way, it was and still is the very fabric of the cosmos. Over the aeons, the magick polarized into the Aether and the Nether. The two magicks were the antithesis of each other, and upon meeting in such infinite quantities exploded and formed the Biverse: the two universes, one of Aether and one of Nether.

The Aether Realms were ruled by the many god-creatures that would someday be known as dragons. Utilizing the magicks of Aether they created a Paradise for the trillions of creatures spawning from the Aether.

The Nether Realms were ruled by a singular being that had no name. Utilizing the magicks of Nether it abandoned the billions of creatures spawning from the Nether to their own devices in order to seek ever-greater power.

It found the Aether Realms.

The battle between the dragon-gods and the singular no-named creature was costly. Billions of dragon-gods were consumed in their own magicks as they expended everything in order to fight off the no-named creature. Seeing no way to defend their homelands the Great Council of Yoka combined their powers to annihilate their universe. The splitting of the Aether Realms sliced through the creature with no name smashing its atoms into nothingness.

But the dragon-gods did not commit themselves to a suicide attack. In their prophecies they saw the birth of other realms formed from the death throes of their own. Choosing the universe their soothsayers directed them to, the dragon-gods crossed over into the Realm of IIo seconds after its formation as billions of particles of energy spread across that Realm…and the dragon-gods lost their immortality. The First Lessening of the dragons was the greatest.

The malignancy that was the no-named creature of the Nether was reduced to atoms, but the remnants of that creature were drawn inexorably across the realms to spread itself across IIo, poisoning every particle of that Realm of existence.

Unaware of the poison that was the no-named creature, the dragons began to shape the universe to fulfill their prophecies. Their prophecies spoke of a last stronghold of good that would stand against evil throughout the ages, a fortress that was founded on stone, birthed of fire and ice, and cultivated to nurture life with air and water. It took billions of years to create a planet to hold all of the dragons’ hope. They named the planet IIo after the realm it inhabited, and imbued its spacetime with powerful magick, strengthening the fabric of the cosmos in that region.

After billions of years the planet IIo was ready for dragons to settle. The call went up across the Realm and millions of dragons left their settlements to come to IIo.

 

[JadedSidhe]

This may seem too simplistic, but I have a world map and a map of the United States on my wall for, among other things, naming people and places when I get stuck. It happens a lot, I am terrible at names.

If you take the time to look at some of the cities on a map, there are a lot that have strange or exotic spellings and sounds (not that I'm pronouncing them correctly). There will be places on the maps that draw my attention, the 'yes, these have the right feel' moment. I'll find a name that I like and I'll start tweaking it.

Macara in Ecaudor became Maccarra. Its still going through changes, currently its Makkara.

Elysia was derived partly from my love of Equilibrium and Greek mythology. The largest human base culture of Elysia was Greek with a few other cultures derived from a demographics of Greece.