Did You Know?
- Tolkien spent over 40 years refining Middle-earth's geography — the name itself means 'middle world' in Old English, adapted from the Norse Midgård.
- George R.R. Martin drew Westeros's map after the first two books were written, retrofitting the geography to descriptions he'd already committed to in the text.
- In tabletop RPGs, a world name doubles as genre shorthand — 'Eberron-style' or 'Forgotten Realms feel' signals an entire aesthetic to players in two words.
This page lists 49 world names from published fantasy, science fiction and mythology, and explains how a name for an entire world differs from one for a city, character or planet's moon. Use it as a reference for the weight a world name has to carry, then run the generator above for invented names by world type, atmosphere and tone.
Unlike the planet name generator, which names single bodies in a star system, this tool names the whole setting: realm, plane, post-collapse Earth or void.
Fantasy Worlds and Realms
| Name | Source / what it names |
|---|---|
| Middle-earth | Tolkien; from Old English middangeard, cognate with Norse Midgard — the main continent of Arda |
| Arda | Tolkien; the whole planet-world, with Middle-earth as its central continent |
| Tamriel | The Elder Scrolls; a continent on the planet Nirn, usually treated as the setting's name |
| Nirn | The Elder Scrolls; the planet that holds Tamriel |
| Azeroth | Warcraft; the planet, named for a one-word world a million players can share |
| Westeros | A Song of Ice and Fire; the western continent, used by fans as an adjective |
| Essos | A Song of Ice and Fire; the eastern continent across the Narrow Sea |
| Narnia | C. S. Lewis; a world reached through a wardrobe |
| Discworld | Terry Pratchett; a flat disc on four elephants atop the star turtle Great A'Tuin |
| Earthsea | Ursula K. Le Guin; an archipelago world with no large continent |
| Faerûn | Forgotten Realms; the main continent of the world Toril |
| Toril | Forgotten Realms; the planet that holds Faerûn |
| Eberron | Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting; most of the action is on the continent Khorvaire |
| Golarion | Pathfinder; the default setting world |
| Krynn | Dragonlance; the world of the Dragonlance novels and modules |
| Thedas | Dragon Age; the continent-and-beyond setting of the series |
| Hyrule | The Legend of Zelda; the recurring kingdom, often used as the series' world name |
| Alagaësia | Eragon; the land of the Inheritance Cycle |
Sci-Fi Planets
| Name | Source / what it names |
|---|---|
| Arrakis | Dune; the desert planet, informally called Dune, sole source of melange (spice) |
| Pandora | Avatar; the moon of a gas giant — named in the film for the Greek myth of Pandora |
| Coruscant | Star Wars; the city-covered capital planet |
| Tatooine | Star Wars; the twin-sun desert planet |
| Hoth | Star Wars; the ice planet of the Rebel base |
| Naboo | Star Wars; the green planet of the Phantom Menace |
| Solaris | Stanisław Lem; an ocean planet that may be one living organism |
| Trantor | Asimov's Foundation; the planet-wide city that capitals the Galactic Empire |
| Gallifrey | Doctor Who; the Time Lords' home planet |
| Krypton | Superman; the destroyed home planet of Kal-El |
| Vulcan | Star Trek; the home planet of the Vulcans |
| Cybertron | Transformers; the metal homeworld of the Autobots and Decepticons |
| Magrathea | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; the planet that manufactures planets |
| LV-426 | Alien; a catalog designation, not a proper name — the plain-number mode of sci-fi naming |
| Caprica | Battlestar Galactica; the most prosperous of the Twelve Colonies |
| Pern | Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders; a planet menaced by Thread |
Mythological Realms
| Name | Tradition / what it is |
|---|---|
| Elysium | Greek; the blessed afterlife realm for heroes |
| Tír na nÓg | Irish; "Land of the Young," an Otherworld of everlasting youth |
| Avalon | Arthurian legend; the island where Excalibur was forged and Arthur was taken |
| Asgard | Norse; the realm of the Æsir gods |
| Midgard | Norse; the realm of humans, the root of Tolkien's Middle-earth |
| Helheim | Norse; the realm of the dead ruled by Hel |
| Valhalla | Norse; Odin's hall for slain warriors |
| Olympus | Greek; the mountain home of the twelve Olympian gods |
| Annwn | Welsh; the Otherworld of the Mabinogion |
| Xibalba | Maya; the underworld of the Popol Vuh |
| Aaru | Egyptian; the Field of Reeds, the paradise of the justified dead |
| Hyperborea | Greek; the land of a people living beyond the north wind |
Universe and Setting Names
| Name | Source / what it names |
|---|---|
| Cosmere | Brandon Sanderson; the shared universe linking his worlds (Roshar, Scadrial, Sel) |
| Earth-616 | Marvel; the designation of the main comics continuity — a catalog number used as a name |
| Known Space | Larry Niven; the universe of the Ringworld stories |
What the Great World Names Actually Do
Tolkien's names work because the sound matches the place. "Mordor" is heavy and final; "the Shire" is soft and small. The name does not need to be phonetically obvious, only coherent with the world's emotional register.
Three Traditions, Three Different Instincts
Fantasy, science fiction and mythology developed separate conventions. Know which one you are drawing from before you start.
Worn-smooth compound words. Roots from dead languages (Latin, Old English, Norse) fused into something new. Names that feel like they've been spoken for a thousand years.
- Tamriel
- Azeroth
- Thedas
- Shannara
- Golarion
Two modes exist: evocative proper names for story-central worlds, and catalog designations for background worlds. Both feel real, just differently.
- Arrakis
- Coruscant
- Pandora
- LV-426
- Solaris
Names that feel numinous, slightly untranslatable — like the word is a threshold rather than a label. Borrowed from real myth but twisted into the uncanny.
- Elysium
- Tír na nÓg
- Helheim
- the Dreaming
- Avalon
The Anatomy of a World Name
Memorable world names are built from parts, even when the meaning stays hidden. "Pandora" is Greek for "all gifts," and the story it comes from started a catastrophe. For a sci-fi example of sound rules applied consistently, see the Na'vi name generator.
Verdanmoor — a vast, living wilderness. You can feel the green before you arrive.
Readers do not need the etymology. The sounds do the work.
How This Generator Shapes Its Names
The generator prompt asks for names that name a whole setting, not a person or town, and bans direct copies of famous worlds. For fantasy realms it leans on compound constructions; soft endings (-ia, -ara, -wyn) read as elvish and hard ones (-rath, -kor, -mael) as harsher. Sci-fi planets run in two modes: evocative proper names for story worlds, or catalog-style designations for background ones. Post-apocalyptic worlds get names survivors would use, such as "the Ashfields."
Skip These
- Names too close to a table above (Mordoria, Arrakus, Azerothia) — readers hear the original.
- Descriptors in place of names ("The Dark World," "Magic Realm").
- Apostrophe-heavy strings with no consistent sound rule behind them.
- Say the name out loud before committing — your mouth knows if it's too hard
- Let the sounds match the world's emotional register
- Invent from real linguistic roots, not random letters
- Keep it under 4 syllables for easy recall
- Give it a different rhythm than your main characters' names
- Use apostrophes unless the world has a consistent linguistic reason for them
- Name the world after your protagonist ("Kevinland")
- Pick something that sounds like a famous world (Daedra, Mordoria, Arrakus)
- Use a descriptor instead of a name ("The Dark World," "The Magic Realm")
- Mash consonants together hoping it sounds alien (Xkrzbl is not a world)
Invented Examples by World Type
These are made-up examples in the style the generator produces, not canon from any franchise.
Universe Names
A universe name sits one level above a world: it groups several worlds that share rules. "Cosmere" and "Known Space" are coined terms; "Earth-616" is a catalog number that became a name. If you only need one planet or realm, name that and let the universe stay unnamed until a second world needs it.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a world name and a universe name?
A world name labels one setting — a planet, realm or plane. A universe name groups several worlds that share physics or magic, like Cosmere or Earth-616. Most stories only need the world name.
How do I name a fantasy world?
Pick a sound register that matches the world, then build from a real root or a consistent invented one. Say the name aloud, aim for two or three syllables, and check it is not one letter away from Azeroth or Tamriel. Soft endings read as ancient and elvish; hard ones as harsher.
Should my world's name appear in-universe, or only on maps?
Both, with a reason. People who live on a world rarely use its cartographic name, so deciding who calls it what tells you about its politics before you write a scene.
How do I make a world name sound alien without making it unpronounceable?
Use a few unusual sounds consistently, not random letters. "Zho-Enne" works because the sounds are strange but individually familiar; "Xzzyblorp" does not.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Middle-earth (etymology from Old English middangeard)
- Wikipedia — Arda
- Wikipedia — Tamriel
- Wikipedia — Arrakis
- Wikipedia — Tír na nÓg
Updated November 2026: added 49 named worlds with sources, a Skip These list, how the generator shapes names, and FAQs from search data.
