What should I name my world?

Good luck with this, I am having the same problem.

There are some good place names in Kenya, I would be tempted to use a real one.Failing that option, here is my attempt at a Kenya ish name......Morangia

One resource I find very useful when I run into the "what to name" issue is surprisingly http://www.babynames.com/

Click on the advanced search and you can pull up names by meaning. For instance, you could search for African names that mean "earth." There's a special section of tips for writers as well you may want to check out.

Good luck!

Noogah said:

Brief overview: It's an underground world inhabited primarily by cryptids and monster esque creatures that you see in nightmares. It's only source of light is dark red lava. It is accessed via a passageway in an Australian jungle.

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If your subterranean world is accessible through the Australian jungle, wouldn't it make more sense for the tribesmen living there to have a greater cultural connection to aboriginal Australians than to one of the tribes of Kenya?

extensive research always yields good ideas. brew 2 pots of coffee and get cracking!

MGraybosch said:

If your subterranean world is accessible through the Australian jungle, wouldn't it make more sense for the tribesmen living there to have a greater cultural connection to aboriginal Australians than to one of the tribes of Kenya?

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Exactly what I was thinking.

Sometimes, when i am having a really hard time coming up with a name I let my fingers do the walking, so to speak. Go into a search engine, type in a random word that comes to mind, if it sounds good great, if not retype it... and the press search and if nothing comes up your in the clear. I've came up with a few okay names... they just dont fit my world... so i decided to put the name on hold until i write the novel.. and then i am sure it will come to me. Good Luck on finding your perfect name.

You could call it...

Smudorphium

"Welcome to Smudorphium!" Yeah...

Have you ever tried a 'random word generator'? Set the parameters for "obscure" and "noun" and you'll get some amazingly cool words! If you don't like the first batch, just hit it again and try a second batch. I've named demons after flower parts and plants after birds. It's all about how it rolls off the tongue and "feels" in your head.

There are more out there on the internet you can search out, but I like this one because it has the level of use. I want something weird but realistic sounding, so this one works well for me. Have fun!

Yeah, I stink at naming things. I tend to just throw random letters together as a temporary placeholder until something comes up.

The world where The Prison takes place is called Targentia - though in hindsight, I probably hit too close to Conan on that one. King Conan rules from the city of Tarantia.

Best way to come up with a good name is try not to think of it. It'll come in time. In the meantime, throw random letters together, use it as a place holder, and don't lose any sleep. Pacenia. Jacordia. Maldarnia. Jumonsoira. Somethingthatendswithan'ia'ia.

Cathy C said:

Have you ever tried a 'random word generator'? Set the parameters for "obscure" and "noun" and you'll get some amazingly cool words! If you don't like the first batch, just hit it again and try a second batch. I've named demons after flower parts and plants after birds. It's all about how it rolls off the tongue and "feels" in your head.

There are more out there on the internet you can search out, but I like this one because it has the level of use. I want something weird but realistic sounding, so this one works well for me. Have fun!

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Okay... this is cooler than sliced bread. Thanks for the link!

scottishpunk said:

You could call it...

Smudorphium

"Welcome to Smudorphium!" Yeah...

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I saw this and my mind jumped to a combination of Smurf and opium. And now I can't get this image out of my head of a decadent, opium-laced city full of Smurfs, with a dark gritty Victorian-with-Oriental-influences look to it.

Call your world "Fred."

Why not look up an Australian aboriginal glossary on line? Or a list of Aboriginal names?

Etola said:

I saw this and my mind jumped to a combination of Smurf and opium. And now I can't get this image out of my head of a decadent, opium-laced city full of Smurfs, with a dark gritty Victorian-with-Oriental-influences look to it.

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You're welcome.

Call it whatever you want. It's an alien world, so you could call it, Hereselvis. And no-one can say it's the wrong name.

I have this image in my mind of one of those words that fantasy books are (in)famous for having, with all those strange clicks and glottal stops. This makes me unhappy.

Why does it need a name anyway? Can't it just be, as it is, and never need a name?

Can't you just call it something simple, uncool, unexciting? Let the place and the things there exist without your false attempts at forcing upon them a label!

It is "underground". It is "through the portal". It is, to those tribal cultures, merely a "Home".

Noogah said:

Log, if I call it just any ole' thing, I could come up with something like...

Mudspukooketrastretchifia

The name has to be perfect, because, C'mon. Narnia/terabithia/middle earth? Those names stick to ya WAY more than Smudorphium.

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... I dunno, Smurfopium has a ring to it.

Imagine if Tolkein was drunk when he named Middle Earth

Gandolf: "We must embark on an epic quest to Mordor to scale to the tip of the world and cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The fate of Smurfopium depends on it! Who's comin with me?"

Legolas: "..."
Gimili: "..."

Gandolf: "Who's comin with me?! For Smurfopium?"

Frodo: "..."
Sam: "..."

Gandolf: "Okay, you know what. I'm taking the gold fish. Me and the goldfish are going to Mordor. I am taking... the gold fish..."

I've always wondered what people called our world back when they didn't know it was a world, when they thought it was flat. In my fantasy novel the people have the same issue, so they have no name for the world (they don't even know it is a world or what a world is). They do have names for their regions, cities, provinces, etc.

As for a name for your underground world, perhaps something simple and barbaric sounding - Chuga, Juga, Chaga...??

Noogah said:

Log, if I call it just any ole' thing, I could come up with something like...

Mudspukooketrastretchifia

The name has to be perfect, because, C'mon. Narnia/terabithia/middle earth? Those names stick to ya WAY more than Smudorphium.

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Take a word. Substitue and rearrange vowels in it until it sounds weird. Put it in, see how it works.