Fantasy Realm Name Generator

Realm names in the register of a map legend: real polity words — palatinate, wapentake, exarchate, riding — each glossed, with a status line.

2,433,600 combinations in this form

The Grand Earldom Garrisoned Interregnum
The Grand of first rank + Earldom earl's territory
Garrisoned held by troops + Interregnum gap between rulers
The Three Landgraviate Chartered Charter
The Three three in number + Landgraviate landgrave's territory
Chartered granted by charter + Charter written grant
The Old Exarchate Held Custom
The Old long established + Exarchate viceroy's province
Held possessed + Custom long usage
The Farthest Reach Chartered Sufferance
The Farthest most remote + Reach stretch of country
Chartered granted by charter + Sufferance tolerance only
The Nether Canton Forfeit Cession
The Nether low-lying + Canton self-ruling district
Forfeit lost by default + Cession handing over
The Elder Shire Reserved Escheat
The Elder older by descent + Shire county district
Reserved kept back + Escheat reversion to lord
The Further Demesne Interdicted Abeyance
The Further more distant + Demesne lord's own land
Interdicted under church ban + Abeyance suspended claim
The Lesser Protectorate Partitioned Fealty
The Lesser junior in rank + Protectorate guarded dependency
Partitioned divided up + Fealty sworn loyalty
The Iron March Granted Election
The Iron ore-rich + March contested border
Granted given by grant + Election chosen vote
The Middle Commonwealth Devolved Concordat
The Middle between the others + Commonwealth common good
Devolved passed downward + Concordat church agreement
The United Exarchate Federated Mandate
The United joined together + Exarchate viceroy's province
Federated joined by pact + Mandate authorised charge
The Green Despotate Held Prescription
The Green pasture-covered + Despotate byzantine princedom
Held possessed + Prescription right by usage
The United Demesne Abeyant Escheat
The United joined together + Demesne lord's own land
Abeyant in suspense + Escheat reversion to lord
The Serene Canton Forfeit Partition
The Serene undisturbed + Canton self-ruling district
Forfeit lost by default + Partition division of land
The Perpetual Confederation Reserved Concordat
The Perpetual unending + Confederation league of states
Reserved kept back + Concordat church agreement
The Lower Expanse Forfeit Forfeiture
The Lower downstream + Expanse open extent
Forfeit lost by default + Forfeiture loss by default
The Holy Expanse Conquered Cession
The Holy consecrated + Expanse open extent
Conquered taken by arms + Cession handing over
The Three Hegemony Garrisoned Treaty
The Three three in number + Hegemony leading power
Garrisoned held by troops + Treaty sworn pact
The Quiet Hundred Protected Treaty
The Quiet untroubled + Hundred hundred households
Protected under protection + Treaty sworn pact
The Twin Federation Held Secession
The Twin paired + Federation union of states
Held possessed + Secession withdrawal
The Farthest Estates Enfeoffed Sufferance
The Farthest most remote + Estates assembly of orders
Enfeoffed invested with land + Sufferance tolerance only
The Sundered Barony Enfeoffed Annexation
The Sundered broken apart + Barony baron's holding
Enfeoffed invested with land + Annexation absorption
The Middle League Tributary Annexation
The Middle between the others + League sworn alliance
Tributary paying tribute + Annexation absorption
The Green Confederation Forfeit Prescription
The Green pasture-covered + Confederation league of states
Forfeit lost by default + Prescription right by usage

Need a name that means something in particular? Build one from its meaning.

How realm names are built

Etymology

¶A realm name on a map is not a territory word, it is a constitutional one. Our kingdom set builds names from land: -mark a border, -gard an enclosure, -heim a home. This set works the other way round. The second element is the kind of polity — a palatinate, an exarchate, a wapentake, a canton, a hundred — and the first element is the qualifier a cartographer adds to tell two of them apart: the Free, the Sundered, the Hither, the Nine.

The polity words are real and each one names a different way of holding power. A palatinate is a county whose count exercises royal rights inside it. An exarchate is what a distant emperor leaves behind: a viceroy with an army. A wapentake is a Danelaw district, from vápnatak, the weapon-taking by which an assembly voted. A riding is a thirding of a shire, a lathe is the Kentish equivalent, a soke is a private jurisdiction and an honour is a great lordship scattered over several counties.

The last line of a legend entry is the status: how the thing is held and by what right. Sworn Charter, Contested Descent, Vacant Regency, Forfeit Fief. Escheat means the land reverted to the lord for want of an heir, abeyance means two co-heirs have deadlocked the title, and prescription means somebody has simply held it long enough that the claim now stands. Adding that line turns a name on a map into a dispute a campaign can be built on.

More fantasy realm names

Names fantasy realm names

The Golden Tetrarchy Protected Partition grain-rich rule by four
The Amber Canton Tributary Escheat amber-trading self-ruling district
The Perpetual Reach Restored Sufferance unending stretch of country
The Amber Stratocracy Granted Homage amber-trading rule by soldiers
The Free League Annexed Partition self-governing sworn alliance
The Elder Landgraviate Chartered Fealty older by descent landgrave's territory
The Golden Banate Chartered Custom grain-rich frontier governorship
The Northern March Sworn Descent of the north contested border
The Serene Palatinate Contested Usurpation undisturbed count palatine's land
The Green Diarchy Tributary Fealty pasture-covered rule by two
The United Duchy Devolved Fealty joined together duke's territory
The Three Barony Abeyant Wardship three in number baron's holding
The Free Dominion Reserved Sufferance self-governing held territory
The Old League Devolved Homage long established sworn alliance
The Lesser Canton Devolved Tribute junior in rank self-ruling district
The Green Earldom Held Purchase pasture-covered earl's territory
The Ancient Allod Escheated Custom of long standing land owing nothing
The High Emirate Forfeit Secession upland emir's territory

Questions

FAQ

How do you name a fantasy realm?

Decide what kind of polity it is before you decide what it is called. A duchy, a confederation, a protectorate and a thalassocracy imply completely different politics, and the word does that work for free. Then add one qualifier a mapmaker would need — the Free, the Nine, the Sundered, the Hither — and the name will read as a legend entry rather than as a slogan.

What is the difference between a kingdom, a realm and an empire?

A kingdom is defined by having a king; a realm is simply the extent over which a rule runs, whoever holds it; an empire claims authority over other rulers rather than only over land. That is why a realm name can carry a word like commonwealth, canton or exarchate, none of which needs a monarch, and why realms outlast the dynasties that acquire them.

What is a palatinate?

A territory whose lord exercises rights that normally belong to the crown — his own courts, his own coinage, sometimes his own army — because the land is too far from the centre or too exposed to be governed directly. Durham and the Rhine are the standard examples. It is the single most useful word in this set for a frontier province that behaves like a small kingdom.

What is a wapentake or a riding?

Both are Danelaw administrative divisions. A wapentake is a district whose assembly voted by brandishing weapons, from Old Norse vápnatak; it does the same job as the English hundred. A riding is a thirding, from þriðjungr, which is why Yorkshire had three of them and never a fourth. Kent instead used lathes. All four make excellent names for provinces.

What does the status line mean?

It records how the realm is held. Sworn means an oath binds it, forfeit means the holder lost it by default, escheat means it fell back to the overlord for want of an heir, abeyance means rival co-heirs have frozen the title, and de facto means somebody holds it without any right at all. Each one is a plot.