At what point does naming countries, cities, places become too clichéd/cheesy?

[Will]

Is there a limit? Should a person draw the line? What is your personal view on this?

An example. I am developing a story which focuses mainly on the capital city of an island nation, only vaguely passing through any other places or towns. I am not a huge fan of naming things, and in my drafts I've always referred to the country as "Earth" and the capital city as "Paradise". To me this fits fine as I've always known them as such, but I understand that for others this would immediately strike as overly cheesy, and possibly a little confusing.

 

[Jess A]

"Paradise" is fine, I think. In fact, if it has a seedy underworld, then I like it even more.

A lot of names in real life places are not very unique. 'Shark Bay', 'Coral Bay', 'Wave Rock,' to name some Australian examples. Africa's 'Table Mountain' and 'Cape Town'. Names based on what the area looks like, or in the case of 'Paradise', perhaps a prevalent ideology.

There are towns with names like 'Dull' and 'Boring'. It was in the newspaper the other day. Current Affairs indeed but I digress...

 

[Ravana]

As long as it's clear they're place names, it shouldn't matter. Most things we think of as just "names" today—that is, they have no meaning for us other than as names—originated as simple descriptive terms in some language or other… not necessarily the one that's spoken there now.

About the only time names bug me is when they're obviously all taken from Earth examples, but the setting isn't Earth (or something colonized by Earthlings). I have no problem with Tolkien using such things as "the Shire," "Bywater," "Rivendell," "Mirkwood" or "Lonely Mountain"; but it would have irked me for him to have had things like "Lancaster," "York," "Aberdeen" or "Cardiff" mixed in with them… or, worse, instead of them. "Mordor" was fine: "Germany" or "Russia" would not have been. And so on.

 

[Jess A]

About the only time names bug me is when they're obviously all taken from Earth examples, but the setting isn't Earth (or something colonized by Earthlings). I have no problem with Tolkien using such things as "the Shire," "Bywater," "Rivendell," "Mirkwood" or "Lonely Mountain"; but it would have irked me for him to have had things like "Lancaster," "York," "Aberdeen" or "Cardiff" mixed in with them… or, worse, instead of them. "Mordor" was fine: "Germany" or "Russia" would not have been. And so on.

People do that? :/

 

[BeigePalladin]

I do that... because my stuffs set on a fantasy version of earth (I can't see it ending up the same as now if magic is real, but I can see it being close) so I still use the same names because, hey, they fit XD

 

[Jess A]

I do that... because my stuffs set on a fantasy version of earth (I can't see it ending up the same as now if magic is real, but I can see it being close) so I still use the same names because, hey, they fit XD

Ravana is referring to settings that aren't Earth at all, I think.

Your story sounds intriguing, by the way.

 

[Will]

Ravana's post reminds me, I was glancing through a book the other day, name of Kushiel's Dart. The maps had their own unique place names as far as I could tell, but I immediately noticed, and was very confused by the maps being used. They were basically the British isles and northern Europe, but with different cities and rivers, etc. Very off-putting for me.

 

[SlimShady]

Ravana's post reminds me, I was glancing through a book the other day, name of Kushiel's Dart. The maps had their own unique place names as far as I could tell, but I immediately noticed, and was very confused by the maps being used. They were basically the British isles and northern Europe, but with different cities and rivers, etc. Very off-putting for me.

Really? I don't how that would be off putting as a lot of fantasy typically is set on a British-style island. I find most maps typically are inspired by real world countries. Just a part of the genre in my opinion, however I could see how it could be off putting.

Although, I've heard very good things about Kushiel's Dart. Don't just judge a book by its maps.

 

[Eeirail]

Well, I see it like this, so long as you do not name something the name just to name it that, [Certain exceptions apply] then I see it as an intresting thing, I mean maybe unstead of "Paradise", it could be the same word just in a less commen language to kick up the intrest. Just a thought.

 

[studentofrhythm]

If I see a place name ending in "-ia" in a work newer than about 30 years I get annoyed.

 

[yachtcaptcolby]

I wouldn't be so quick to throw away the idea of naming things, or of naming things too casually. A name--be it for a person, place, or thing--can tell the reader a lot about something. Nicknames doubly so, since they're a reflection on how a person, place, or thing is viewed by the people in your story.

 

[Saigonnus]

In the real world, places are often named by the original inhabitants of the land in their tongue... how do you think Tallahassee or Tennesee got their names?, from the native Americans. The same could be true for a fantasy world. The Empire; based in Hammerfell might control an area now... and has for 100 years but a town named Ikryth could still be in the hills on the edge of their territory, a throwback to an older time since they swore allegiance to the Empire in the time of their grandfathers.

I think as long as there is a viable explaination why a name is what it is, readers won't care unless of course three villages in the same area are called Lowman's Mill, Garumn's Outpost and Jhenkriat. That is where a bit of history within the world is important, even if most of it is unknown to the readers.

 

[Helleaven]

If I see a place name ending in "-ia" in a work newer than about 30 years I get annoyed.

And what are your suggestions for name building?

 

[Saigonnus]

If I see a place name ending in "-ia" in a work newer than about 30 years I get annoyed.

I kind of wonder the same thing really, what are your views on naming places? I have used the -ia ending, but perhaps once or twice in my WHOLE world, certainly nothing particularly common. I tend to use names that have some connection to the land or within the history of an area. For example, the southern reaches in my world are covered in snow much of the year and are sparsely populated. The provinces of Ys'Garlorn, Ys'Maloki and Ys'Baki all used to be part of the same kingdom in times gone by, but have disolved their unity when the kingdom was invaded 260 years in the past. The people still have that deep connection to the land and kept the names out of respect for the blood that paid for the territory.

 

[Alva]

(Agh. I'm terrible at naming places.)

In any case, your provinces sound at least logical to me. While reading, the common "Ys" would be likely to remind me not only of the shared history of these provinces but how closely they're situated. At least in my case it'd help keeping the map up and clear in my mind. (I rarely take a second look at a map, even if provided, while reading.) Do the latter parts of the names refer to the separated peoples or do they for instance describe the nature of the three different areas?

 

[Saigonnus]

(Agh. I'm terrible at naming places.)

In any case, your provinces sound at least logical to me. While reading, the common "Ys" would be likely to remind me not only of the shared history of these provinces but how closely they're situated. At least in my case it'd help keeping the map up and clear in my mind. (I rarely take a second look at a map, even if provided, while reading.) Do the latter parts of the names refer to the separated peoples or do they for instance describe the nature of the three different areas?

I created the map many years ago and have forgotten much of the history I wrote for the area but if I remember correctly, the Ys comes from the name of the kingdom that disolved (it was something like Ys'alamiri or some such) and they simply kept the names of the principal cities the same in rememberance of their heritage and culture. Those principal cities became the "capitals" of the seperate regions and they enjoy a tentative peace even amid the occassional assassination (in their view; if a regent in such a hard land is incapable of defending themself, or can't provide an adequate protection for themself, they deserve to die so someone new and possibly more capable can take over). That attitude is part of the reason they haven't been able to reunite as a larger kingdom again.

Think of the area almost like a persian flavor, their cities with low walls, round domes on many of the larger buildings and slanted roofs on the rest to keep the snow from building up. They typically built with granite blocks instead of sandstone (which should be obvious why) and doors and windows tend to be round or at least rounded at the top with thick, crude glass to keep out most of the weather. The people are pale and typically wear their hair long and usually dress in thick woolens for commoner and wealthy alike, though generally the more wealthy you are, the more layers you wear, even incorporating bearhide or seal skins into the clothing for added warmth and waterproofing.

 

[deilaitha]

I think that the name "Paradise" is just fine, really. I can't say I bat an eye at place names in stories usually, as long as it doesn't seem weird. As has been mentioned, though, using a real place name like "Lancaster" would make me wonder if this was an alternate history/future story.

If "Earth" just seems to cheesy or cliche to you, "Mundus" or "Mundi" means exactly the same thing but in Latin (Mundi is the possessive form of Mundus).

I don't mind just "Earth" though, because it is simple enough that it creates a great blank canvas for the rest of the story.

Heck, the name of the land in Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series is "The Land"!!!

 

[Ireth]

Or you could play with anagrams and call your world Reath, Rathe, Thera, Haret, Ethar, Hetra... there are probably dozens of options to choose from.

 

[deilaitha]

If I see a place name ending in "-ia" in a work newer than about 30 years I get annoyed.

Real Place Names:
-Romania
-Bulgaria
-Lithuania
-Serbia
-Latvia
-Russia
-Georgia
-Asia
-Malaysia
-Australia
-Cambodia
-etc., etc., etc.

Fictional Place Names:
-Narnia
-Andalasia
-.........?

So I'm guessing you got really bored in geography class? If real places have names like this then what is wrong with fictional places having them? I think, if not overdone, it lends a touch of credence to the story.

 

[Rikilamaro]

"Paradise" is a fine name for the city. I see no problem with it. Unless you as the writer have a problem. In which case you should change it. Your readers probably won't mind either way. As for "Earth" I have a mixed reaction. I suppose it's the voice in my head of some rusty old Transformer saying, "Earth? That's a terrible name for a planet! Might as well call it Dirt!" But I digress.

If you're happy with it, leave it be. If it's nagging at you change it up and see if a different name doesn't spark some inner fire of authorgasm.