Names and Naming

I must find the right name or I cannot get on with the story.
I cannot write the story if the name is wrong.

Ursula K. LeGuin
1926 – 2018

I have always believed in the importance of finding just the right name for people, places, and things in speculative literature. My favorite authors are, in fact, my favorites because they took the time to find just the right name. Dune would not have been Dune without the noble, Greek-sounding name of Atreides and the harsher, darker name of Harkonnen for Herbert’s rival noble houses. Jack Vance’s books would not have been so enjoyable if not for monikers like Ascolais and Almery. LeGuin herself was a master, twisting Slavic languages sideways to create soft, sibilant Russian-sounding names for Gethen and shorter Polish-sounding ones for Earthsea… not to mention the contrasting naming systems of Anarres and Urras and the plethora of worlds that comprised the Ekumen.

On this page, I’ve collected my Worldbuilding Wednesday posts that feature randomly generated names (via the software of Gammadyne’s Random Word Generator) for various things to help a word-blocked writer out.

2018

2017