How do you come up with town names?

[creamyy]

What methods do you use for inspiration when you're coming up with town names? I'm desperately trying to think of what I should call my new horizons island. in the past I used to get on google maps and look at names of streets, suburbs and shopping centres but I think i've used all the good ones.

 

[pinkfawn]

Random word generators help a lot. I usually go for something cutesy and soft so it's difficult to find the perfect name to fit the vibe I'm going for but every once in a while a generator will give me something good to use.

 

[Hazeltuft]

well, theres a blog from aforestlife, and she has a section in there about town names. she listed a bunch of prefixes and suffixes, and just name ideas!
for me i usually choose things that sound good if i'm not choosing a town theme-
for town themes, i choose something that fits. the town i am working on atm is a purple-blue-pink town, so my characters name is violet to fit the theme. however, i chose vonbelle as the town name because it just sounded good lmao.
for a rabbit town i am planning on doing soon, i chose the name warren. it's another word for burrow.

 

[Xara]

for new leaf, i mainly just chose words that sounded nice as i didn’t have any plans for a certain theme.

for new horizons, while i still don’t have a specific theme in mind, i googled ‘unique words’ or ‘words with beautiful/unique’ meanings and that’s how i found apricity :3

 

[Mayor Monday]

I just take inspiration from things in life. A couple of my towns were named after cities in a short story I wrote. Another was named after a band from the 60s, and my current is a Russian name because I find the culture interesting.

 

[Snowesque]

I use the same ones traditionally, but I usually base them off my favorite things but then twist the words.

 

[John Wick]

I base it on something that interests me.
Something I can set a theme to.

 

[LadyDestani]

If I'm trying to do a theme, the name normally comes to me easily based on the entire vision I have in mind. But most of the time I don't do themes and just let my town evolve naturally. Without a theme, I just think about words that sound nice to me and that I know I won't hate a year later. I like to use a lot of foreign words too, just because they feel more unique to me.

 

[SmoochsPLH]

I try to pick something that makes me happy and gives me a calm feeling cause that's what AC does for me! My new leaf town is called Peace and my island's gonna be named Kokomo.

 

[SandiBeaches]

My inspiration (or lack of imagination) came from the food I was eating at the time of setting up. My WW was Mallow, was eating a flump, a type of marshmallow sweet. NL was Trailmix. Exception to this was CF, i had recently visited Amsterdam and was missing the city so named mine The Dam. Not sure what I will call my island tho, I'm hoping to come up with something before release so I don't name it something stupid like Bagel or something.

 

[Scrafty]

i had no clue what to choose for new horizons so i tried everything, like using a thesaurus for synonyms, places names in my country, lists of towns/levels in video games that i play and using google maps. and also just writing down any word i thought sounded nice.

now that i have the names i still don't know what to pick because i like a few of them lol

 

[Romaki]

There are many ways to find a nice name for yourself.

Firstly you can make up syllables and come up with a name all by yourself, with whatever sounds you prefer.

You can also translate things into different languages. My New Leaf town was named after a color in a different (not too common) language.

I also looked at fictional towns. Maybe one of your favorite shows/movies has a name suitable for an island?

For my New Horizons name, I felt like looking at hawaiian islands for inspiration and found a crescent-shaped one that I think I want to work with. I'm kinda hesistant to commit to new names, but now is still time to get used to them.

Of course you can also just go with normal words, like naming it the Rose Island or whatever. If you're unsure with what direction to go in, I feel like doing something basic will be satisfactory to you.

 

[Rosewater]

I always chose a name that was from one of my interests or just sounded cool - usually something mythology or fantasy inspired. I had a friend that named her town Walmart so there's that.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

In Wild World and New Leaf, my inspiration came from thinking of what theme I wanted for my town (e.g. country/farmland, ect) and what favorite items I'd find within that theme (windmills, sunflowers, ect) then trying to combine and fit the name within the space limitations. I came up with Everhue in Wild World by imagining a town full of color though I regret the name. :x Once I looked online I found way better name combos which I'm planning to borrow once I get New Horizons. I tried name generators, but I didn't like any of the choices. Still, it might help others, so I'd recommend that as another helpful tool.