# Name ideas for a world, an organizations, and sorcery terms in fantasy story?



## Miniver (Jul 7, 2013)

I'm trying to setup the world my story takes place in, and at the moment I have a lot of temporary names that are just too generic.
If there are any fantasy writers here I'm curious if you guys have any advice on names.
Not names for characters, but names for setting related stuff, things like towns, organizations, mystical powers that characters use, and et cetera.
Any input appreciated!

Here's a link to the ideas I've posted in my journals for reference!

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4812190/  < setting ideas  (Though I need to ad an updated version about human/furry hybrids)

The temporary terms I have down right now and the descriptions of the things they represent...
These are the terms I specifically want to change into something less generic.

Arkane or Arcane:  The name of the world/planet the story takes place in.
Was once full of humans, furries, and hybrids, only full blooded humans have mysteriously disappeared.
Humans originally enslaved the furries, so now the furries are free and currently building a society for themselves.

Furries:  The anthropomorphic animals that were once slaves to humans.
Their society at this time is deeply rooted in the use of sorcery, but offensive magic is looked down upon.
Originally only humans could use magic, but since then they've gained the ability to use magic has been granted to furries somehow.

Hybrids:  A person who is part human and part furry.
They are frowned upon by both humans and furries, and are more often than not treated as outcasts.

UFOs:  Strange metallic ships in the sky that appeared when the humans vanished, and have yet to leave.
Are possibly the source of the humans disappearance and awakened ability to use magic for furries.
Treated as something sacred by society at this time.

Black magic and warlocks/witches:  Offensive spells that are specifically for causing harm.
Is frowned upon to the point that warlocks and witches are treated as criminals.

White magic and priests/priestesses:  Spells that assist in some way.  Example:  Healing.
Priests and priestesses are highly praised and admired.

Warlock "Mafia":  An organization of rebellious warlocks and witches who use their powers to terrorize others.


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## M. LeRenard (Jul 7, 2013)

The advice I always give for coming up with names is to try some clever things with language.  You called the world 'Arkane', or wanted to call it something similar, but that makes it too obvious what you were going for.  However, there's no reason you have to give up that link: just hide it better.  I do this kind of thing with character names all the time, but here's an example of what I mean.

Okay, so the word is 'arcane'.  Let's go to the internet and find a translation for that in some random language: translate.google.com
Hmmm... how about Basque.  Looks like Google says it's 'urrutira', which sounds pretty cool, but we don't want to just use the word.  'Tira' probably sounds sort of like 'terra' meaning 'earth', which is good, so maybe we could flip it around and get 'Terurru'.  Now you've got a fantasy name that you can tell people comes from 'terra' and the Basque word for 'arcane'.  If you don't like the sound of it, pick another language and try again.

It's a fun game to play, and you can come up with some more creative things this way than just by sticking random letters together, so maybe give it a try.  Do be wary of accent marks, though; you want your names to be pronounceable to general audiences.


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## Harbinger (Jul 7, 2013)

Kinda found myself doing that, seemed to flow the easiest in coming up with names. My main race are yout typical wolf anthro's, wanted to point out how they still hold strongly hold on to their predatory nature. They were carnivorous canines, so i mixed together various parts of carnivore and canine with something that tied it up. Ended up with Carnarian. I was "happy" with about 6 different versions before deciding on that. Just picking what sounded better.

What about Archeran or Arkeran for example?


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## Miniver (Jul 8, 2013)

Interesting advice, thank you guys.

ADDING:  Odd question, but when creating your world/characters by just posting ideas and summaries and nothing really official or completed yet is that better for journals or scraps?
In my journals I've been posting the ideas and very brief mini-bios, but I'm wondering if I should move them to scraps.


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