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Old 04-28-2022, 10:38 PM   #1
Phantasm
 
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Default [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

I'm working on my space opera setting, gearing up for a game set there. (My Marvel Shadowguard game is on hiatus again due to burnout.)

I'm looking for names I can use for cities, planets, space stations, and systems for a sector of space situated roughly 40 to 60 lightyears from Earth.

So, ideas? Functional, fanciful, pop/geek culture references and homages, "New $place_on_Earth", and mythological names are all welcome! You don't need to go into detail; I just suck at names (this is known).

And for the record, planet Bob is already accounted for! :)
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Old 04-28-2022, 11:21 PM   #2
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

Terabyte Station
Trilobyte station
Cenobyte station
Overbyte Station

As you can tell we had a theme going in our last space game.
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Old 04-29-2022, 04:13 AM   #3
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

Part of this, like naming locations in any setting, will be to decide on the naming culture(s) and how they work.
How were these locations settled and by whom?
A sector settled by free enterprise may look more like the American West with places and colonies named after the pioneers (Drake's World, Hogan's Landing, Kowinski Station), whilst a more statist or corporate approach might lead to blander, more PR based and scientific names (Enterprise Station, Agricultural Facility #5, Eridani III). Monarchies and other aristocratic traditions might look like the free settler model with more formal names dedicated to kings and princes. Ideologically driven settlements (religious or political) will have names that suit the cause.
Also look to non-English speaking cultures - then either use the names in the native language or translate or Anglicise them (for example Hong Kong apparently translates as Perfume Bay - either would be a decent name). Also, misuse foreign words - we have at least four rivers in England called The Avon. Afon is the Welsh word for "river".
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Old 04-29-2022, 05:30 AM   #4
ericthered
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

I like to incorporate a bit of history in there:

Keatonblunde (Keaton's Blunder. Yes, the namers were english, blunde just sounds more like a place name)

A reference place and an adjective work well:

New Anchorage
New Phoenix
New Yukon
New Everest
Far Luna
Grand Vegas
Little Cali

Naming places after people has a long history, as long as the name is both short and distinctive. If you don't want politicians and historical figures (and they are moderately unlikely at this point), consider Actors. Will Smith probably doesn't make for a good place namesake, but consider:
Denzel
Jackson*
Morgan*
Reynolds
Radclift
Cumberbatch
Garfeild*
Holland**
Gyllanhall

*ok, I already know of real places named after people who are 100% not the actor
** that is... sort of already a place, but when has that stopped people?
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Old 04-29-2022, 05:50 AM   #5
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

Luban
Lemoine
Shaanxi
Al-Sayeda Zeinab
Teclu
Ryougoku
Caobao
Chit Lom
Camden
Changping
Lesoparkovaya
Paco
Sichuan
Saint-Martin
Aquino
Tawaramachi
Zinkensdamm
Tai Wai
Huaning
Jawa
Mokotow
Heiwadai
Mladost
Phloen Chit
Boulets
Exarcheia
Sodra Angby
New Pest
Billancourt

These are from a list I made to give some international flavor to my settings. There is a theme, but (as you say) it doesn't matter.

I suggest, however, that you don't use anything that you can't readily pronounce (or alter the spelling/pronunciation to something more comfortable). I discovered that my players took the too-exotic names and gave them easier nicknames anyway.
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Old 04-29-2022, 11:59 AM   #6
DeadParrot
 
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

travellermap.com

Thousands of names to pick from.
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Old 04-29-2022, 07:53 PM   #7
Irish Wolf
 
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

One of the things I liked about Niven's Known Space was that most of the colony worlds were named after something memorable about them. We Made It, for instance, where the colony slowship landed during the spring windstorms and was almost destroyed (the site of the landing is commemorated as Crashlanding City); or Plateau, a world with an unbreathably thick atmosphere except on a series of plateaus atop the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Lookitthat (named for the first words spoken when it was sighted, as the slowboat looked for a landing place - "Lookit that!").
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Old 04-30-2022, 11:47 AM   #8
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

You can cut down some of the effort by just assuming that naming rights are still a thing, then you only have to come up with names for corporations and brands, and everything else falls into place.

Citibank Colony
Playstation Station
iPlanet
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Old 04-30-2022, 03:06 PM   #9
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanW View Post
You can cut down some of the effort by just assuming that naming rights are still a thing, then you only have to come up with names for corporations and brands, and everything else falls into place.

Citibank Colony
Playstation Station
iPlanet
Or just the Sony Playstation, which serves as a transit hub to the worlds of Nabisco-Reynolds Sector, including Citibank Colony, Pepsi's World, and iPlanet, the sole habitable world orbiting the star Apple. (The two largest settlements on iPlanet are the twin cities of Jobs and Wozniak, sometimes referred to by colonists as "the Steves".)
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Old 05-01-2022, 04:03 AM   #10
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Default Re: [Space/Sci-Fi] I Need Some Names

Quote:
Originally Posted by Irish Wolf View Post
Or just the Sony Playstation, which serves as a transit hub to the worlds of Nabisco-Reynolds Sector, including Citibank Colony, Pepsi's World, and iPlanet, the sole habitable world orbiting the star Apple. (The two largest settlements on iPlanet are the twin cities of Jobs and Wozniak, sometimes referred to by colonists as "the Steves".)
  • Citibank Colony starts to look bad, so Citibank sues the colonisation agency, and while that's in progress the colony has no official name.
  • Pepsi needs some quick cash so sells the naming rights to Pepsi's World to Diageo. Officially that planet is now Crown Royal, and calling it Pepsi's World is criminal brand violation.

etc.
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