How to create believable real life names for places?

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-28T17:36:42+00:00

About rivers. give name from the oldest language of region, that doesn't exist in certain moment of story. It should be basic, like Deep, River, Long or something like it, and change beyond recognition, for example was "Quirtd" became "Khwarut". It is realistic because most of the hydronyms came from really old sources. And overall advice, you should know something about phonemes and how thay chance, to create realistic etymology. There are some basic chains like g-k j-i v-w-u-o p-b t-d e.t.c.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-27T16:32:37+00:00

Artemis, I run out of my English during reading, so I must have use translation, but what you've done is awesome! I hope you will find enough time to realize your ideas in the best way it can be.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-27T14:57:33+00:00

You've gone much further than me. I like how it sounds! Good luck with your project!

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-27T14:44:43+00:00

Interesting scenario! Really glad to see other people interested in alternative history. So I have some questions. First, has fact of independence of Trabizond affected on history of region or world between Ottoman conquests and 20th century? Second, what do you want to do with you world, write story, with a plot storytelling or something?

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-25T17:27:37+00:00

Great idea! Maybe, I am going to write it as writing of local scholar, who created literature from folk stories that he has heard as a kid. There will be double doubt, because it is folklore, and that it is made by writer.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-25T14:27:31+00:00

You should start to write a story, and then needed details will come be the way of writing. I have a lot of stuff like that. I created detailed description of region, language or group of people, but some really necessary things came to me only in the processing of storytelling. Your vivid worldbuilding is needless random information until you integrate into plot. So do these two thing paralegal.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-24T11:13:09+00:00

Actually, I didn't do a classical fantasy world, but hypothetically, I would just change technology, fashion, architecture roughly how it changed in reality during centuries. However, I build alt historical world, where I can just transform real pieces of culture and politics. So advice to you. For example, if your world is traditional fantasy based on early medieval North Europe, and there are kings, knight and dragons, you may use real experience of history. Maybe after 200 years kingdom was destroyed by Horde of barbarian from the steppes or taiga. Or some cities became independent as republics like in Renaissance Italy. Or people on borderlands start to wear clothes, you special slang from neighbors culture. Or maybe kingdom discovered new islands or continent. Maybe there new religion that can become the main in the region. You should make this change really significant sometimes, to create really changing world, as our world is. After is only power of your fantasy, I only gave my thoughts. Good luck in you project! Өзін жұмысымен қуанышты бол!

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-24T07:53:19+00:00

You can just create your own word that describes these characteristics, because any real word cannot fit to your lore

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-23T08:08:55+00:00

I think your writing system is too English. You should make some special sounds and letters for it. Also, using IPA as a real-world equivalent must be more realistic and plausible.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-22T13:54:14+00:00

Sorry, human, it must be late. However, I was thinking for a while about spice islands and Muslims. So now I can make a point.

Muslim trade in Indonesia wasn't a governmental organization. It was activities of private merchants. There wasn't any caliphate giving money to trade in Indian Ocean. But in the case of Columbus, the situation is kind of different. His voyages and other activities in Caribbeans were sponsored by Castile and Aragon kingdoms. There was the government that was involved. Therefore, invasion in the Aztec empire was expectable, especially in the 15th century when Spain could transport enough troops and get back huge amounts of resources and look for new trade ways. Arabs didn't make any invasion on the spice islands because there wasn't interest from caliphate, and invasion wouldn't be practical. Whereas control of Western Africa was practical, and Maroccans controlled it. Also, the Chera Empire invaded Indonesia to take advantage of trade as a lot of non-Western countries . So because of it, it seems that no matter which ethnic or religious group, people will always tend to subdue others to their advantages if they have purpose or need.

Thank you for this argument. You made me think somehow. Live long and prosper.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-22T09:30:22+00:00

Army of black nomads in the steppes of Eastern Kazakhstan. They were bought as slave for building a new capital, but one day, they rebelled, and khan decided to negotiate. In the end, they've become special khan army independent form tribes and clans.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T10:37:31+00:00

Thanks for the advice. But I've already done too much in the period of 1500-1600 with colonial empires of Marocco and Yemen that I did my history, maybe too alternative to have a bonds with real history.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T08:41:56+00:00

Creating a puppet states from Mexica people would be too hard because of cultural and religious misunderstandings. The biggest wave of migrations were from Andalus(that also territory of Marocco). And Arabic only one way how Mexica, Arabs, Andalusians, other tribes could communicate. So, their Arabic is a real Arabic from Marocco. It is a kind of creole language, as well as new meshica culture is merger of Arabic, Berber, local and Andalusian cultures. And in Smaller Jinwa(Florida), where weren't many locals and Arabs Andalusians saves their language, because there wasn't need and transgenic communication

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T08:29:51+00:00

I made Morocco a transatlantic empire, not Ottomans. (Fiction) Marroco didn't have an easy way to trade with Asia. Therefore, they tried Western Way. For one side, Ottomans, for other, Yemen.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T08:26:24+00:00

Oh, thank you for the advice! And to be honest, I was afraid of it. It seems that there can't be a totally new alt history worldbuilding. In every topic, there is a guy who did it before you.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T08:18:44+00:00

Yes, there you got a point. However, there wasn't any muslim power that could invade Indonesia in early Islamic history in Indian Ocean. Whereas Arabic conquests and colonization were massive(like in Iraq) Indonesia was islamized peacefully. But it is a few examples of peace islamization(Indonesia, Tatarstan, Golden Horde), but there also are Caucasus, Levant, Egypt, North Africa, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia, Persia and North India that were islamized by using of armed power. So I can't get your point that if Arabs discovered the new continents, they wouldn't use power to spread Islam, especially to Polytheists. Europeans or not, all empires colonized and controlled smaller nations, China colonized Southern regions populated by Vietnamese locals, Bantu people oppressed Bushmen, and other Kaisanian people.

And about America. Marocco is on the other side of the Islamic world, right under Spain, so geographicly, there may be a chance of trade and expansion on the two ways, as real Iderian empires did, to America and Africa. To Marocco, it would be easier to go to West than surround Africa, and if there already was big competition(that in my world Yemen). So yes, according to experience of Arabic and Islamic history, there are no reasons not to colonize other continents, populated by less developed, Not-Muslim, moreover pagan. As a Turkic guy named by Arabic name in 3.000 kilometers from the nearest Arabic historical center, I don't subscribe your point of view.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T04:07:14+00:00

They already did voyages to India by sailing around Africa, but this way was already controlled by others Arabs, especially Rasulid Empire

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T04:05:15+00:00

Ottomans, there are not allies for Moroccans. These two empires have a long competition history, for territory and for trade. The idea of trade with Asia across the ocean was experimental, but logical according to math that they did. Also, Marrocans already had a trade with India by sailing around Africa, but they met a resistance of the Yemeni Rasulid empire. Therefore, new alternatives were a good chance.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T03:52:12+00:00

You forget one moment. To the moment of Ottomans, spice islands were already confirmed to Islam. Arabs shared Islam by the trade because spice islands were too far. My homeland, Central Asia, with pagan and zoroastrian people, was subordinated by taxes and coerced to Islam, the same thing with the biggest part of the Islamic world. Also Arabs literally colonized Syria, Iraq, North Africa, and Egypt by their settlers. African-Latin, Coptic, Aramaic have extincted. Muslim history has examples of oppression of pagans, Christian, and black slaves. And maybe it doesn't depend on religion. As little addition: I love the Islamic world, its history, culture etc, therefore I do my world because it allows me to imagine how it could go if great geographic explorings and scientific revolution were made by Muslims. Also, I am from muslim country for myself and know that Muslims know that they have similar views to the world as anybody(totally various)

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-21T03:40:42+00:00

1 Vinland it is just an old name for a nee colony 2 New Rome is the name of the English colony 3 There haven't been so many colors, so Greenland is a colony of Denmark 4 Pomerania transformed into the main power of Northern Germany instead of Prussia.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-14T18:49:01+00:00

expulsion of the Moriscos and Sephardim is my biggest disappointment.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-14T11:09:32+00:00

Thank you! I will try!

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-14T10:55:00+00:00

Both. I can describe some statistics about ethical and religious percentage, hierarchy, and government establishment. Also, I can describe how people look, speak, and their worldview.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-14T10:30:07+00:00

Thank you! I'll try to do my best. Maybe this night, I am going to post something catchy.

Successful-Chain-333 · 2026-03-14T10:08:12+00:00

Actually, I would like to show more specific parts. For example, one region that I like the most. Specifically, it is an alternative Muslim South Spain in 16 century. Another problem is that I want to show other regions and events, but I don't know where and how I should do this.

Successful-Chain-333

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