Reply With QuoteAt first I just made up some random names without even thinking of how these names were created. But now I read this thread, I totally am going to change all my names, they need much more attention. Thanks!
I was actually just naking a doodle for the outline of a continent for a graphuc novel/manga-type story. It ended up looking a lot like the head of a eagle, so the name was obvious. The hook of the beak created a bay and stuff like that. I have to figure out scale, too, but I'll post an image later (I'm on my phone.)
At first I just made up some random names without even thinking of how these names were created. But now I read this thread, I totally am going to change all my names, they need much more attention. Thanks!
Kind of a funny story. When I first started developing my Japanese horror setting for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Kaidan. I was initially developing it for the CWBP (Community World Building Project) here in this forum. I had initially called my island chain, the empire of Asahi - since Asahi is Japanese for 'risng sun'. The problem is, that most people who don't speak Japanese, only know of the word Asahi, as a particular brand of Japanese beer. Not that I was afraid any kind of copyright issue, as Asahi is just a word and not a made-up product name, but I really didn't want to associate my game setting with alcohol...
So I started researching more deeply. Interestingly, I learned there was a Japanese story telling game played by samurai in the 15th century, called Hyakumonogatari Kaidan Kai - which means a collection of 100 ghost stories, with Kaidan meaning "ghost stories". The way the game is played, 100 lit candles are placed in a circle on the floor. All the participants sit inside the circle, while being watched by an audience outside the circle. Each participant tells a short ghost story, odd occurence or creepy tale and at completion wets his fingers and extinguishes a candle. Since there were usually only a half dozen or so participants, each had to tell a couple dozen tales each. Once all the candles are extinguished, it was believed that the story telliing and candle extinguishing was some sort of arcane ritual that summoned a demon to visit the players. The game was a test of courage played among samurai, although being very popular the game spread throughout society and lasted up until the arrival of Americans and the end of Shogunate Japan.
Since my intended setting was both feudal Japan based, and Asian horror, choosing Kaidan as its name seemed appropriate. More than that, however, naming a Japanese flavored story telling game, using the same name as a Japanese story-telling game that is hundreds of years old seemed too good to pass up. As kind of a reincarnation of an ancient Japanese game. Notably a twisted form of reincarnation is one of the built in mechanics of the setting - so Kaidan is almost custom designed to be the perfect solution.
For the rest of my setting, I've tried to both stay true to using the Japanese language, and trying not to duplicate any actual Japanese city or place name - I didn't want to infer any connection between my fiction and anywhere in actual Japan. So all city names, place names, provinces use actual Japanese words. Even the people (NPCs of the setting) use actual Japanese last names, but I have again tried to avoid using the whole names of known Japanese historical figures or modern celebrities. On the other hand of the setting's fictional founding is based on an actual historical event that occured on April 15, 1185 - the final battle of the Genpei War in Japan. The tale of the last battle and the suicide of an entire imperial house as a result of that event was the causing curse that creates Kaidan. While Kaidan is based on Japanese history (at least this particular point), it is a fictional place that otherwise has no direct connection to Japan.
Last edited by Gamerprinter; 01-31-2014 at 04:00 PM.
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Not to belittle the epic tale of naming set forth before me, but I name all MY people/nations/worlds either ironically or satirically... or both.
In general, when I'm defining a world, I'll work through it all in order of scale. At each scale (starting at global), I'll just brain dump place names. At the global scale, this generally means I'm writing down names of continents, major landforms, or even major political entities. I do this alphabetically. Start with A, write down a random place name, move on to B, etc. I might do this a few times. I end up with some really terrible names but some great ones, too. Over time, you end up with a good list of place names for all kinds of scenarios. If I'm naming something that needs a more intentional-sounding name, such as Port SomethingSomething, then I'll either whip that up on the fly or modify names already on my list.
I personally, use a mix of fantasy and existing. Sometimes I form the fantasy from the existing.
Given that I map mostly for stories and other projects I'm working on, my places have a whole history and what not. So, for example, when I'm working on a story that uses ancient Greece as a base, then some things can be tracked back to that time/world. Also, I think about what I name things. Whether that's a city, a building or an entire world. It needs to have meaning in my opinion.
For my world 'Kentro' (set in a fantasy galaxy), I looked up the word "center" or "middle". This is a world directly from the Greek language, given that I used ancient Greek as a base for this world. Kentro literally means center. I used that word because the inhabitants of that world really think everything revolves around them. They consider themselves to be the center of the galaxy.
Sometimes though, I just look up words with a certain meaning and brainstorm next on a fantasy word.
Currently I'm working on a world with several races, so the names will have different origins. Based on what background I give the creatures. For example, if I base a Dwarf society on old Germanic society, I will dive into that history and get my inspiration for everything related to my Dwarves from that time of our history.
I will never stop using my own imagination, but I will make sure that things don't get mixed up. Even a fantasy word must <i>sound</i> like it comes from the same language as the others. Whether that's a made up language or not, whether it's a fantasy word or not.
As for the order of naming things:
I don't really name things in a specific order, really but I usually start with the inhabitants of the world. Given that they in the end named their world, if you want to have a plausible story. If I use several races, there'll perhaps be several words for the same thing.
After that, I tend to run from big to small and back again. First the most important things/places/objects in the world and then work to the smaller, less important things.
Sorry for the long post, and I hope it's all clear :'D
~Cee
Names are interesting things. Consider the names you've given to objects and locations in your local life. Things don't get Names. People and living creatures do. In our culture Names are things reserved for souled individuals(what we also call animacy) whereas names are things you call things. This is why you can wiggle your toes in the earth and contemplate the future of Earth. This also helps illustrate that language is cultural.
How do I names things? Well, which culture is naming this object, and how do they classify it? Is it a magic True Name or is it just a label?
With labels I start with the culture that will name the object, then I determine how the object fits into their world philosophy. After that I name the object using phonetics that the culture would likely use. I also try to avoid anything that sounds too cool. (Things like Deathstar, Bloodfeast, and Nemesis are right out, as are most biblical references.)
With True Names I like to go the complete opposite and base it entirely on what sounds cool, though I avoid faux Latin like an accursed copy of Twilight bound in tortured flesh of Justin Bieber. Faux Greek on the other hand....
Terra actually (the T is important)Originally Posted by Karro
well, Terra means Earth, just like in english, and I belive both may have a similar origin: for the 1000 years that composed middle age... actually, for 1300 years if you add to it when the roman empire united the majority of europe under a same standart... the main language were latin (just like it's english now, for the whole world) and therefore, most european nations called our planet Terra, like the romans, but translating it for their own languages. so, basically, if the 14 thrhones have a originated from a same event, probably somewhere in the past your world (or the part of it you are focusing on) shared a common language, which probably had a name for it. you may keep the name of the original language, or translate it for the language of the nation you intend on focusing on...
some tips:
I-take a name it have on our world, and write it backwards, see if it looks like a good start (earth->htrae; Terra->arret...)
II-with time, names tend to change, specialy if knolodge isn't passed down by written means, even more if the name was given in another language (htrae->threa; arret->ahet...)
III-if the name had some obvious meaning (earth for example) it tends to stick to it... even if later on it's discovered not be exatly true
(Earth for a planet which is mostly water, River for a nation that survived a millenia on a oasis-like river along a desert, even though the desert may be small when compared to the whole world)
IV-in a last stance, if the majority of the know world share a same religion that gives a special name to the world, even if that religions fades away with time, the name tends to survive (midgard->middle earth->média terra->mediterrâneo->mediterrain)
I know this thread is like, five years old now, but I did wan to mention
I have made plenty of worlds, all with different names and reasons. The first was "Kinval" I just liked the name. It was very standard fantasy aside from it's technology being at a carolingian/post-roman empire period. Orcs, men, elves, goblins, very clear gods and demons, etc. The big twist at the end of the campaign I ran was that the gods were just as conniving and unpleasant as the demons and ended up trying to destroy their own messiahs (the players) when they got close to the truth. Anyhow, the name was a generic fantasy name, I am sorry to say.
My best world to date is "The World of Rat & Dragon" I'm the overauthor with a bunch of other friends all writing for charachters in a 14th century era fantasy realm more similar to the late middle ages. All magic extinct aside for a distaint continent that was closed off centuries ago, etc. The main story is a civil war in a sort of medieval britain based on the Wars of the Roses. Charachters on all four or so sides. Anyhow. The places in the setting were as follows
Saalim, or the Levenent was the desrt region, a continent south of the european type continent. The Levenant due to being influenced by The Crusades, it had a lot of Crusader expys, even a sacred city in it. The name "saalim" was actually my little cousin's name for his imaginary desert world filled with Bedouin stereotypes. While Saalim of the setting was far more like israel/iraq/turkey, it was still a middle eastern type zone.
The other area was "The Shadowplace" based off of my cousin's imaginary worlds again. That was their name for their mother's craft room where they couldn't play with their toy soldiers.
The final (primary) area was Norvath, which was named because it, being the europe type area was in the North. Other places within it included "The Thunderbow" with a lot of thunderstorms, the Huntlands, an area of forests, the Ironlands, an area of mineral rich mountains, Stormlane, called such because storms swept in form the sea frequently, and plenty more. There were 21 holds in all.
Hey! So I don't know if this will be much help, but I really want to hit my five post minimum and it's one of the few things We actually did with my homebrew map. When my friend told me what he was looking for in a world, and what kind of campaign he was going to brew, the place names almost wrote themselves for me. To explain, while it is a legitimately made campaign, it is structured so it is full of tongue-in-cheek references to it being a game and has an interesting mix of humor and seriousness that is hard to explain if you do not know the DM. Therefore many of the place name, for instance the continents are Dankia and Memeius after the term Dank Memes, the DM's name is Dylan so the primary empire is Dylanium and the capital Dylanith, since he created the world. Clearly it is far from the most realistic or accurate way to name places, but I feel at least that they mirror the world well.
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