City Name Generator
Twenty invented city names per click, in four eras: a present-day city with a real-sounding suffix, an ancient capital, a fantasy seat of power or a sprawling future metropolis.
- Stanwick Point
- Kleopolis
- Xenon-15
- Karesse
- Lumen-14
- Myrpolis
- Lykopolis
- Neo Ferro
- Brennock Harbor
- Zarethos
- Bellville
- Port Lindell
- Saltmarsh Landing
- Flavia
- Ferrium
- New Zephyr
- Kepler Hab
- Wickmouth
- Pyrgopolis
- Bonewall
What a city name tells a reader
A town name usually describes a spot on the map. A city name tends to make a claim. People who found or rebuild cities name them after rulers, saints, hopes and older cities they miss, which is why so many real ones start with New, Port or Saint and end in something borrowed from Greek or German. When you name a city in fiction, decide first what the founders wanted the world to think. A trading city wants a Port on the front. A capital wants a ruler's name or a grand suffix. A mining boomtown just wants to be found.
Suffixes carry a lot of history. Greek polis meant a city or citadel, and English still bolts it onto new cities to sound civic. The Old English burh, a fortified enclosure, drifted in meaning from fortress to fortified town to plain town, and survives as -bury, -borough and -burg. Pick the ending that matches the era: -polis for a classical or self-important place, -borough for an old English market center, -ville for an American city that started as someone's claim.
The most common mistake is making every city sound like a capital. A setting with five cities called Aurelion, Valancor, Thalemor, Serethra and Morivane blurs together. Give the capital the long, formal name and let the port, the mining city and the border fortress have shorter, plainer ones.
City names by era and genre
Modern city names in the generator mix believable roots with the endings real cities use: Brennock Harbor, Port Caldry, Pikeborough. The ancient style builds Greek names on -polis and -nesos and Latin ones on -ium and -ensis, plus colony names such as Colonia Serena, which is how Roman settlements were often labeled. Fantasy cities come in two shapes: flowing invented names (Calandris, Thalemor) and blunt compounds for fortress cities (Ironspire, Saltgate). Sci-fi cities lean on technical or astronomical words and sometimes a number, the way a colony might be named by a committee: Meridian Arcology, Helix-7, Neo Vanta.
Big real cities are filtered out, and so are well-known fictional ones from comics, games and novels, so you won't get a name that belongs to someone else's world.
City names with a story built in
- Port CaldryThe Port prefix tells readers the city exists because of its harbor, which shapes everything else about it.
- Brennock HarborSounds like a working waterfront city with fish markets and a strong union.
- New HalvernA New name implies an old Halvern somewhere, lost, abandoned or still resentful.
- PikeboroughThe -borough ending gives it an old market-town core that grew into a city.
- Stanwick HeightsHeights suggests a city built up a hillside, with the rich living higher than everyone else.
- Marchant FallsA founder's surname plus a waterfall: the classic shape for an American mill city.
- KleopolisKleos is Greek for glory, and a capital named for fame is a capital with something to prove.
- AsterpolisStar city in Greek dress, good for a classical setting with an astronomer king.
- ThalanesosThe -nesos ending means island, so this is a sea capital built on its own rock.
- AureliumA Latin -ium ending on a golden root sounds like an imperial provincial capital.
- Colonia SerenaRoman colonies often carried a descriptive epithet; this one promises a peaceful posting.
- CalandrisThree syllables, soft consonants and a crisp -is ending: an elegant fantasy capital.
- ThalemorThe dark -mor ending gives an old, heavy city, possibly past its best.
- IronspireA compound name for a fortress city that people describe before they explain it.
- SaltgateTells you the city controls a trade route and probably taxes everything that passes.
- Gilded VeyorisAn epithet in front turns a plain name into a nickname locals use with some sarcasm.
- Meridian ArcologyA megastructure city named like an engineering project, which is exactly what it is.
- Helix-7The number implies six earlier Helix cities, and readers will want to know what happened to them.
- Neo VantaA rebuilt city with a dark root word; perfect for a rain-soaked cyberpunk setting.
- Lumen SprawlA city named for its lights and its lack of planning, both in two words.
- Orison DomeOrison is an old word for prayer; a sealed colony city with a hopeful name.
- EmbertonPlain enough for a real map, with a hint of a fire in the city's past.
Getting city names right
- Give each city a reason to exist (harbor, crossing, mine, throne) and let the name reflect it. Port, Bridge, Gate and Falls do this in one word.
- Vary length across a map. One long formal capital, a few two-syllable trade cities and some blunt compounds reads like a real region.
- Use New for colonies and rebuilt cities. It adds instant history, and a second city (the old one) to write about.
- Keep sci-fi numbers low. Helix-7 sounds like a place; Helix-4471 sounds like a server.
- Say the city name with a preposition: "the road to Calandris," "born in Pikeborough." If it trips your tongue there, shorten it.
Questions people ask
How do you name a fictional city?
Start with why the city exists (trade, defense, faith, mining) and who founded it. Then pick a root word or founder's name and add an ending that fits the era: -polis for classical, -borough or -bury for old English, -ville for an American frontier city.
What are good city names for a fantasy world?
Strong fantasy city names are either flowing invented words of three syllables, such as Calandris or Thalemor, or plain compounds like Ironspire and Saltgate. Mix both on one map so the capital sounds different from the fortress towns.
What does -polis mean in a city name?
Polis is Greek for city or citadel. It sits at the end of classical city names and was later reused for new cities that wanted to sound civic, so it works well for an ancient capital or a grand, self-important modern one.
How do I make a sci-fi city name?
Combine a technical, scientific or astronomical word with a structure type (Arcology, Dome, Stack, Station) or a number. Short numbers work best. Names like Meridian Arcology or Helix-7 sound planned, which suits a future city.
Will the generator give me real city names?
It builds names from word lists and endings, so an occasional small real place can appear, but large real cities and well-known fictional cities are filtered out. Search your final choice if you plan to publish it.
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Sources
- -polis (etymology), Online Etymology Dictionary
- borough (etymology), Online Etymology Dictionary
Updated September 2026 · How these names are made