Planet Name Generator

Are you a science fiction novel writer or RPG game designer in the science fiction niche? Then you might want to create fictional planets for your games, stories and more. You might want to use the planet name generator to help you build those environments and make those fictional places seem more real to your audiences.

In this article, we look at how you can use the planet name generator to help you create those realities. The article will include tips FAQs and some great steps to get you started.

Why Use a Planet Name Generator?

There are numerous reasons why you might want to use a planet name generator rather than rely on your creativity, For one, you might want to build a reality that is completely unique and the challenge is that people tend to stick to the same sort of names. This means that sometimes, you can be swayed and not have something unique.

Another factor is that you might be short of time and the name isn’t a major factor for the story. It might just be something that is mentioned once or twice in a story without any major implications.

Whatever the reason for the development of the planet, the planet name generator is a great way to give you more time to build an excellent list of potential planet names to add to your novel, game or other fictional work.

Tips for Naming a Planet

When creating a name for a planet, you want to get a good name. There are several reasons for this, for one, even though it isn’t mentioned often, it does become an important part of your story and fans and readers will remember the name of nearly every fictional planet that you mention. Therefore, you have to make sure that you have a memorable name that people can identify with.

So do spend at least a little bit of time on creating a name for your planets.

And to help you, here are some tips that can help you choose from a set of great names.

Tip One: Consider the Era

While most science fiction is often set in the far future, that doesn’t mean that you can’t choose from some of the ancient eras of Earth. This can be a great way to add some familiarity to the environment that you have and also great sounding names. For example, you could have names that are associated with Ancient Rome, the stone age or another period of time.

There are also other periods that you can use. But be sure that you’re aligning your planet name with any character names that you’ve got. For instance, if you’ve got a lot of characters that are named from the Norse period, then you need to use a Norse planet name as well.

If you want something that is a futuristic option, then you can choose something shorter and harsher. This is a common naming convention for alien and futuristic worlds.

Tip Two: Naming Conventions

Numerous naming conventions have been used throughout history and this is likely to continue when you are talking about planets in the future. If you look at how the planets in our solar system are named, many are named for Gods from Ancient Rome or Greek.

There are also other naming conventions that you might want to consider. For instance, some cities on Earth were named after those who founded the city, this can be translated to your planets.

Another convention is for names to be based on something that is linked to religion or mythology, as already explored above.

You might also want to base names based on specific elements that are supposed to be featured on the planet. For instance, you might have a planet that has lots of waterfalls. You can name the planet something connected to the waterfall.

Tip Three: Storylines

If you’re going to make the planet a major part of the storyline, then you will want to ensure that the planet has a name that can match that. For instance, if your planet is the base for a pirate group, then you might want to name it something like Smugglers Way.

Or you might want to defy this and name it something that has nothing to do with the purpose of the planet to throw off the readers and make actions later on more interesting.

Or you might want to change your name from one language to another language. For instance, you can use Presign to mean Prestige because that is the Dutch to English translation.

Another option is to use a name that is rather ironic. Like calling a Planet Rainfall when the planet is a complete desert.

Tip Four: Think About the Community

Another factor is that you might want to think about the audience. They will want to have a world that feels rich and well thought out. The planet might just be in a chapter or a quick stop. Or it could not even be visited in the storyline but rather be something that your audience knows about because of a character talking about it.

To make that world feel rich, you want to give your planet a great name and identity. This means that you also want to think more about the culture and life that is on the planet.

These elements can be an important part of the naming process. This is because the culture or history can become a significant part of the naming process.

Tip Five: Links

You might want to talk about the links between the current planet and the links to older places in your galaxy. There are numerous examples of where cities or landmasses are named after somewhere else. For example, New York and Boston were named for places within the UK. You also have places like New South Wales.

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

Tip Six: Meet Expectations

The final factor is to make sure that you’re going to meet the expectations of your audience. If you’re writing a story that has lots of aliens in it then they might have more interesting planet names and not expect names that are from Earth.

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

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

Planet names are a great thing to name, but they can be challenging. So here is some help to get you to name your planet with a planet name generator.

Step 1 – Create a List

The first thing that you should do is to create a list of everything that you want to associate with the planet. Using the tips above you can create a long list of words with good history, plot points, characters, stories and more to help you.

You don’t need to worry about how long this list is going to be. You start to reduce this down in the next step.

Step 2 – Reduce Down the List

Now take the list and start to compare the list with what are the most important features of your planet. For instance, are certain words not important enough to be used for your planet? Are words going to create an obvious point that you want to keep secret for later on? Or are there words that you just don’t like?

This can be really challenging for you. So you might want to reach out to fans, friends, family or speak to other authors about the name. You can also create a poll on your Facebook/Twitter account to find out what those who are following you think.

Step 3 – Add your Words to the Planet Name Generator

Now you can add your words to the planet name generator. Every time that you enter a word or click on ‘Generate’ you will get some great names. Below are certain examples of what you can get after entering your list of words.

Planet Name Generator

You can try the planet name generator below.

Step 4 – Reduce the List Further

Now you can go through the list of potential names and see if you can reduce the list to your favorite ten options. This can be a time-consuming process. You are looking for a name of a planet that will stand out from a story perspective as well as something that will build engagement with your audience.

Ideally, you want to have 10 names that you can use within your story or content.

Step 5 – Check for Usability

Now you want to make sure that you can check that the shortlist includes names that you can use. While some names might seem like they’re the perfect option, they might not have the best option for numerous reasons.

For instance, you might have a name that is already been used in famous media. For instance, if you got a name like Dune, that is something that is not going to be good. That name is probably going to upset some fans of the franchise and also those who own the franchise.

You might also want to remove names that are associated with real place names.

Step 6 – Check Domain Name Status

Next, you might also want to check for domain name availability. This can be because it is a great way for you to earn more money. You build a website with the planet name and you can use this as a marketing tool for fans to visit and sell merchandise or advertise other products.

Step 7 – Choose your Name

Finally, you are ready to start to choose the name from the list of ten that you would like to use. You might have discarded some of the names already as they are unsuitable. To help you limit the choice further, you might want to speak to your fans, friends, family and other authors to help you reduce the list further.

In the end, you’re looking for just one name that you would like to use.

Planet Name Generator FAQs

Do you have questions about the planet name generator? Here are some common FAQs that you might want to consider looking into.

How Much is it to Use the Planet Name Generator?

You do not have to pay anything for using the planet name generator. Any author or content creator can use the planet name generator for free, as many times as is necessary to create the name that they need for their work of fiction.

Even if there is a name that you like from the list of planet names that are suggested, the cost is free. There is only one cost that you might need to pay and that is if you register the planet name as a domain.

Every time that you click on ‘Generate’ a fresh load of names will appear.

Can you Copyright a Planet Name?

It is possible. For instance, Hobbits, while not a planet name, is a trademarked species named. And you might want to consider that other names, like Hogwarts, are protected from use by other content creators.

Final Word: Planet Name Generator

Above are the steps, FAQs, tips and more that you need to help you name a new planet for your fictional work. You must use a planet name generator as it will help you speed up the naming process and create something that you and your audience will love. It will also help to bring your fictional universes to life.