Creating a fictional character can be challenging, but what is even more problematic is creating a fictional kingdom and giving it an appropriate name.
It would be best if you had an excellent guide to help you capture the correct name for a kingdom, so it speaks for the characters that live in it.
You need to consider a lot when naming a kingdom, but the geographical location is often a significant aspect. That is where our Kingdom name generator comes in handy!
This name generator is a great tool as it can provide a creative and practical kingdom name suggestions. However, let us get into the details and explore all the possibilities to help you figure out the best name for your fictional kingdom;
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How To Name Kingdoms
Several guidelines will help you pick a name for your kingdom, and they will depend on your story’s setting and your intention for it. Here are some factors that will help you pick the right name for a kingdom;
1. The setting of your story
This fictional naming system will not apply to books about the present day or real life since you already have the names.
It will be easier on your readers if you use existing names for cities, but you can change them if you want to.
If you say, write about an alternative reality, it would make sense to use different names even if you base the story in the real world. If you are looking for names for a kingdom, chances are, you are writing a historical story.
If you write a historical book, you can use names that already exist to make it easier for readers to understand the geography of your story. There are numerous kingdoms and rich human history to inspire your story.
If you intend to write a story about the future, post-apocalyptic, fantasy, or sci-fi, you will need to develop new names for your kingdoms.
2. The function of the place
The name of a kingdom should give the reader an idea of what the place is for. A good example is Kingslanding in George R.R Martin’s book; it was the name of the place a great king first landed on the continent.
Is it a trading outpost, a fish market, a prison, or a sanctuary? Understanding the primary purpose of your creation is a great way to help you figure out how to name it. A simple name could be excellent and descriptive enough to keep your readers hooked.
For instance, you can name a kingdom, The Sanctuary or Serpentsheart, to show the readers what other characters think of the kingdom. Understand the function and use the local language to develop a clever name.
3. The geographical location
The physical location is among the most important factors to consider when looking for a name. You need to see if the kingdom is in a desert, snow, forest, or mountains and use that to guide your reader through a fitting name.
Its direction on a map or a given landmark, critical to the story, can be a source of the name, and it will be descriptive as to where the kingdom is so readers can understand journeys easily. You could also use a landmark or physical attribute of the location.
For instance, if your kingdom is on the Eastern side of your map and a mountain, you could name it Eastern ridge.
Maybe it’s in the hills, so they see the sunrise first; you can call it Suncity or another descriptive name; try not to be too edgy.
4. The people living in the city
The people living in a Kingdom will help you name it depending on their feelings about it. This is why any writer needs to connect with their characters. If it is a safe place, they might name it Haven or Safehold to show what they feel in it.
If the people occupying the kingdom are Vikings, then it will make sense that the name is of meaning to them is Norse or something meaningful to Vikings. For this to work, you need to understand the origin of your characters and their language.
Narrowing Down On the Name
Having a general guide on naming kingdoms will help if you have a few kingdoms to name. However, if you have a whole world with dozens of kingdoms that need names, you will need to find a way to name the new ones.
You might have characters that will name their settings after historical leaders, but you might not know the names of their historic leaders. Here are some ways to get ideas that you can use to name your kingdoms;
1. Symbolism
You need to figure out important symbols to your story or characters directly relevant to that kingdom since most places have symbolic names. Gather all the words you can find that fit the city’s symbol and put them aside for later use.
Each city has a personality, and as your story progresses, you will get the perfect name from your list.
This can help you come up with many names of different kingdoms for the same list, depending on how they relate to each other.
2. Names
Most writers often get inspiration for their work, and people could directly impact your work. Someone you know in real life, or a famous person could inspire you, whether positively or negatively.
Write these names and choose the best one to rhyme with your kingdom. You can use a historic name if you want to since it will be more relatable to the reader rather than the person you know. Avoid using people’s names negatively or twisting them to sound different for legal reasons.
3. Inspiration
When naming a kingdom or setting in your story, this is the most critical aspect to think about. It would help if you looked at the elements that pushed you to write the story or create the kingdom by inspiration.
If Vikings inspired your work, think of names that fit within their error. If you have well-known fantasy creatures like dragons in your story, you can use them as names for kingdoms. You need to create a long list of names that fit your inspiration and use it to name your kingdoms.
4. Alteration of spelling
This is a famous trick when creating a name for people or a setting in a fictional world. You can take a word or several words and tweak them or spell them differently as a name. You can join two words into a name or add syllables to a short word and make it a name.
Keep in mind that the change in spelling should turn into something that the characters can connect with. This means that the culture’s language and history will be in the final name.
Ideas For Fictional Kingdoms
You now have a good idea of how you can get the perfect name for your kingdom, but as a beginner, you might have a problem following the criteria. If you are having difficulty, here are some names you could try using in your work;
- Borrering. A good name for a Viking city that is well fortified since this is a historical name of one of the most significant Viking castles. It can be a good name for a historical book or a sci-fi novel with people keen on Viking culture.
- Dragonsfort. If you write a fictional story with dragons, you can use this name for a kingdom with dragons. You could also use it if the kingdom is well defended and feared as a metaphor to show that it is as powerful and dangerous as a dragon.
- The Outpost. This can be a valid name for a kingdom formed out of a trading or military outpost. It doesn’t have to be a big kingdom, and you can work the story to make the title fit more appropriately.
- Tradersbay. This is an obvious name, and the moment a reader sees it, they will know what the kingdom is all about. This will make the story easier to follow, and your book will sell better.
- Elfring. This can be a name for a magnificent kingdom for elves if you have a fantasy with them. It could also be a fallen city that originally had elves or any other story that can link it to elven creators or ancestors.
- Slaversyard. Most historic settings had slavery on a form, and you can use this idea in your book if you have a kingdom that often sells humans. Slavery is inhumane, so you need a way to make it appear evil and shunned so you don’t offend readers.
Conclusion
Many cultures take pride in their history, and they will reflect this in the way they name the places they live. If your characters value nature, you could name the kingdom after a plant, flower, or animal that the people use as a totem.
Understanding what matters to your fictional society will play a significant role in creating a home for that fictional society. Your characters will name their kingdoms, so understand them and get a name they connect with, so your readers can connect with it as well.
A Kingdom name generator is an essential tool. It is intuitive, fast, and straightforward. The kingdom names created by this name generator are carefully chosen.
If you liked this Kingdom Name Generator, click here for some other Fiction Name Generators you might love.
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