Are you a writer, RPG enthusiast or someone who just likes to create interesting fictional places for games? Then you might want to create city names at times. But this can be hard. So many people create city names that sound unrealistic or are too similar to existing names. That is why it might be good to use the City Name Generator.

In this article, we look at how you can use the city name generator to help you create an excellent city name for whatever purpose you’re going to be using it.

Why Use a City Name Generator?

There are numerous reasons why you might want to use a city name generator instead of creating a name on your own. For one, you might want to create a name that is unique and has not been used before. Or you might have writer’s block and keep on coming up with the same old names that just seem boring.

You might be short of time and the name isn’t as important as other parts of your story or game as you would think.

Whatever the reason for the development of a new city name, the city name generator is a great way to give you more time to build an excellent list of potential names to add to your script.

Tips for Naming a City

While it might seem trivial, there are several reasons why you might want to get a good name for your city. For one, while it might only be mentioned a couple of times, the name of a city does become an integral part of any fictional land that you’re creating. Therefore, you want to ensure that it is memorable and makes sense.

Therefore, you want to spend at least a little bit of time on it. So here is some advice for you to help you build a good set of names for naming your city.

Tip One: Consider the Era

The first thing that you need to do is to think about the era that is being used for your fictional world. Are they in the future, in the ancient Greek period or a revolutionary French period? This can all have importance on the name that you choose.

For instance, if you’re basing your name on the Vikings period, you might want something that is Norse or Old English. If you’re looking to build a village or city in the Roman period, something with Latin in it is important.

If you’re talking about the future, you have to consider what the audience will expect. Aliens might have new ways of writing and generally speaking humans might have shortened their writing too.

Tip Two: Naming Conventions

Numerous naming conventions have been used throughout history. In some cultures, they used names of the founding fathers, like Alexander the Great, or King James of England to name the towns that were founded on their behalf.

However, some towns are named after local landscape elements. For instance, some cities are named after bends on the right, being close to the sea or even in a valley.

There are also city naming conventions that are based on religion or beliefs. In the UK, some cities are named based on their legal status. Three cities, in particular, had the addition of le Soken added to them to denote that they were independent territories that had no allegiance to the local manor, which other villages and cities did in the medieval periods.

And it depends on the naming conventions of the fictional people that you’re writing for that will help you determine what name you should choose.

Tip Three: Storylines

Is there going to be something very important about the city to move the story along? For instance, in Doctor Who they named certain locations based on connections to the characters such as the famous Bad Wolf storyline where one of the main characters had a nickname of that throughout the series and they named a location after her.

You might have other names of the city like ‘Thieves Tavern’ or ‘Priest’s Retreat’ that can determine something special about the city for your storyline.

It doesn’t have to be obvious either. In some science fiction literature, the author will use another language to create a city name that has a specific meaning in their language. For instance, Presige is the translation for Prestige in dutch.

Another option is to use a rather ironic name. Like calling a city Sunnybeach when there is no sun in the storyline.

Tip Four: Think About the Community

Your story’s characters might not be explored much, it might be just a stopping point in a level on a game, a chapter in a role-playing game or even just a brief stop for an adventurer in a book. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t bring the story to life.

Therefore, you have to think about what the culture is going to be like within the city. Is the city going to be a place that was once prosperous but since a nearby mine has run dry, is no longer invested in. Or is it a religious place where everyone knows everyone’s business and keeping a secret is hard?

These elements can be an important part of the naming process because you want to make sure that the name can allude to that. For instance, a city that sprung up from a mining community would likely have a name linked to that.

Tip Five: Links

There might also be the consideration to find links between your current city that you’re writing for and older cities. Think for example many cities in the USA that are linked to towns in Europe. New York, Boston and other cities all have similarly named locations within Europe.

It can be as simple as placing the word New in front of the town name. Or it can be more challenging like creating a specific link that is harder for audiences to name easily.

Tip Six: Meet Expectations

Another factor is that you must meet the expectations of your audience. If you’re writing a Middle Earth story based on elves and halflings, then you want a name that is going to fit within that world. For instance, a lot of halfling names are centered around the natural world.

If you’re based in space and you’re naming a space city, they are usually linked to solar activity or something grand.

Your audience will have expectations that you will need to meet or they might reject the city outright.

How to Use the City Name Generator to Build a Fictional City

When it comes to using the city name generator, it is very simple to do. Here are the instructions that you will want to use for your fictional storytelling.

Step 1 – Create a List

The first thing that you will want to do is to create a list of everything relevant to your city. Using the tips above you can create a long list of history, plot points, characters, stories, and more to help you generate a name that is going to be good and believable.

You shouldn’t worry about how long this list is going to be. You can start to reduce the list in a moment to come up with the important details next.

Step 2 – Reduce Down the List

Now take that list and compare it to other features within the story. Do certain words, while good on their own, not play a major part in the story. Are they too obvious? Are the words going to detract from the overall feeling that you’re giving to the storyline and the audience or are the players going to hate the name?

This can be challenging for you. So you might want to reach out to fans, friends and family to find your best city name. You can create a poll on your Facebook or Twitter account to find out what those who are following you think.

Step 3 – Add your Words to the City Name Generator

Now add the words that you’ve come up with into the city name generator. Every time that you click on the ‘Generate’ button you will get a list of potential names that you can use. Save this for later on.


  • convinced City
  • additional City
  • sick City
  • foolish City
  • modest City
  • low City
  • awake City
  • panicky City
  • deep City
  • obliged City
  • secure City
  • witty City


  • unchanged On Sea
  • remarkable On Sea
  • professional On Sea
  • willing On Sea
  • intelligent On Sea
  • disappointed On Sea
  • historic On Sea
  • healthy On Sea
  • feminist On Sea
  • surprised On Sea
  • perfect On Sea
  • handicapped On Sea


City Name Generator

You can try the city name generator below.

Get a Name Idea

Step 4 – Reduce the List Further

Now that you’ve got a list of lots of potential names, you can start to reduce the list. This can be a very time-consuming process. You’re looking for a city name that will stand out from a story perspective as well as interaction with your audience.

You want to have about 10 names that you can use within your content.

Step 5 – Check for Usability

Now you want o make sure that you can use the name. While some names might be good, other names might have trademarks against them or real-world locations that you don’t want to associate with. Therefore, you should remove those names from your 10 shortlist.

Generally speaking, this should be a quick part of the process as if you’ve done something that is completely fantasy, then you shouldn’t get too many real-life examples.

Those that might have some trouble are those who are creating a Middle Earth city name. Some locations in this niche are trademarked by various groups that create content for various media outlets.

Step 6 – Check Domain Name Status

This is an interesting option, but one that could be useful for you. Some authors or creators have created domains for their fictional worlds. This can be a good place to sell merchandise for super-fans, and create more content for the audience to engage with and improve engagement.

Step 7 – Choose your Name

Now you’re able to start to choose the name from the list of ten that you have. You should have discarded all the names that are not suitable to use. To help you limit the choice further, you might want to speak to your fans or family members about what they think about your shortlist.

In the end, you’re looking for one good name that you can use.

City Name Generator FAQs

Do you have questions about the city name generator? Have a look below, someone might have already asked it and it is listed below.

How Much is it to Use the City Name Generator?

There is no charge for using the city name generator. Any author or content creator can use the city name generator as many times as they would like. Every time that you click on the ‘Generate’ button a new list of city names will come up.

And if you would like to use any of the city names, you can for free. The only cost that there could be is whether or not you would like to register a domain name for the city.

Can you Guarantee the Names are Available?

The city name generator can not check if names are available. This is something that you will have to do when you are creating the names yourself.

Can Two Cities have the Same Name?

Yes, two cities can have the same names in different content pieces, in theory. Although there are some cases when this might not be possible. There are also concerns that your name might be confused with the other entry, so it might be something that you want to avoid. For instance, you might not want to name a city Hogwarts.

Can you Copyright a City Name?

It is possible. For instance, Hobbits, while not a city name, is a trademarked species name.

Final Word: City Name Generator

Above are the steps, tips and simple FAQs for naming your new city with the City name generator. It is important for you to use a generator as it will speed up the naming process. And you can also use the generator to help you build a more lively place where your fictional characters can live.

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