# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Writing, Stories, Linguistics, Toponymy and other wordy stuff ! >  Please help me name my barbarian villages!

## Pananacakes

I've got to go to the crowd (i.e. you guys here) for this one because I'm about 900 village names short of the 1789 or so I need. I have a culture that for now I'm referring to as "barbarians" because if someone wants to play that class in a DnD or Pathfinder game in my world that's the culture they would come from. Some are humans and some are half-orcs; there are no full-orcs; they mix and share a culture and language; they live in huts and tents made of wood and skins in forests in low land and mountains; they are closely attuned to nature and hunt for much of their food; they are warlike but not evil or hyperaggresive. 

I have almost 900 village names but the name-making part of my mind has run out of fuel, and I need as many more.

Please suggest some names for their villages, or better yet some themes that i could use to make lists that I can mix-and-match from. The names should be in English. I have a translator to turn them into the "barbarian" language.

T.I.A. for help.


Edit: having read a couple other posts I decided I better add some info.

The names can't be based on topography. That's one thing that's making it hard. The reason is because the villages are not all being placed by hand, and the names are being applied semi-randomly, and I can't guarantee that the name "Green Mountain Village" doesn't end up on a village in a valley, or "Wide Bay Camp" doesn't end up on a mountain top. Some names like that are fine since I can place a number by hand. But the map as a whole has many thousands and the vast majority are placed proceduraly. In the future I'd like to work on a better distribution program that takes into account elevation and nearness to the coast and so on, but in the meantime that's not a thing.

They also can't be an existing place name unless that name is made into plain English. For instance, "New Town" is alright but "Newton" isn't. This is because I want these village names to be translatable back from the barbarian language into plain English.

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## waldronate

I wouldn't worry too much about getting place descriptions wrong. The city of Ridgecrest in California, for example, is at the bottom of a wide and flat valley. Similarly, Greenland isn't very green.

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## Pananacakes

I got a laugh out of pics of Ridgecrest. I don't think I've ever seen a flatter place and I've been to the Utah and Nevada salt flats. My son guessed they named it because they could see the ridge crest of those mountains in the distance. I prefer the idea that it was just wishful thinking.

So I guess I could have a place in the mountains that has a view of the far off ocean and name that peak "Sunset Harbor." I think I might stick that in by hand, translated into barbarese of course.

Also thanks to JustToBeFrank who pointed me to a resource I got tons of names from.

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## waldronate

It's named Ridgecrest because the post office wouldn't let them name it Sierra View and someone said that they liked the name Ridgecrest and they went with that instead of the previous name of Crumsville.

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## Pananacakes

Oh, well now I just have to stick a Crumsville in there somewhere.  :Smile:

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## kirkspencer

A few days old, I see. Still, I want to put in my two cents in case you're still looking. Since you can't use the terrain, use the people. 

Example. Set up a naming pattern that works out to "camp of the ___ sept of the ___ clan formed by [founding person]" So maybe (don't laugh to hard) Pananacakescampoftoponymyofcartographers. Or since most people aren't Welsh and will gradually shorten it, Pananacakescamp. Unless Pananacake is a common name, in which case Pananacake'toposcamp, or for outsiders Pantoposcamp. And another is panancakestown and another is Pananacakeseat and ... you maybe get the idea.

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## Pananacakes

It's a good idea. Thanks for coming back to the thread to mention it.

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## XCali

Hmm, this is just brainstorming. But Barbarians usually like their physical shows of strength or achievements. For example. This tribe's first leader slew this legendary creature. So it is called the Frostclaw clan. Or the Ironfist village. Or something the entire clan once felt strong about. Winterglave clan. Jak's Truimph.

I think if you find something where they honoured strength or felt united in, it might make it easier.

Hope that helps  :Wink:

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## Pananacakes

Yeah, there are places named for creatures that were fought and defeated there, and other noteworthy events.

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## The_Sleeping_Dragon

Dear pananacake
Tolkein derived his names for Orcish places from Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and Georgian place names so worth checking out some of the place names and you might want to put their Armenian equivalent in brackets (as it is the closest I have found to Mordor's script).  Here is Armenia but also worth looking up Wikipedia on Georgia, north Iran and Turkey

Armenian provinces include

Shirak, Lori, Armavir, Kotayk, Syunik, Ararat, Tavish, Gegharkunik, Aragatsohn, Vayots Dzor

Towns Cities include
Gyumri (Գյումրի)
Vanadzor (Վանաձոր)
Vagharshapat (Վաղարշապատ)
Etchmiadzin (Էջմիածին)
Abovyan (Աբովյան)
Hrazdan (Հրազդան)
Artashat (Արտաշատ)
Ijevan (Իջևան)
Gavar (Գավառ)
Charentsavan (Չարենցավան)
Metsamor (Մեծամոր)
Ashtarak (Աշտարակ)
Tashir (Տաշիր)
Kajaran (Քաջարան)
Vayk (Վայք)

and at least another 900 once you take in Turkey and Iran

Hope that helps

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## Pananacakes

Thanks Sleeping Dragon. Do you know where I can get those Armenian names translated into their original meanings?

Those letters make me wish my the fonts I am using supported Armenian. I'd love to slip a few of them into my Elvish.

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