Noble Narratives: Tracing the History of Kingdom Names

When playing role-playing games, tabletop games, or fantasy scenarios, we always include some fictional kingdoms in it. Why not? Different kingdoms foretell different stories! The kingdoms that dwell in our fantasy world dictate the story that our main character will tend to experience. Plots are catered easily to our characters by placing them in a dilemma with the kingdoms in conflict. 

Now you wonder and ask yourself, “What are the best kingdom names I could use for my next fantasy world?” In this article, we have compiled a list of the best kingdom names available. Additionally, this article is intended to give you some great tips for creating unique kingdom names that you can use in your future stories and games.

  • Silvermere
  • Faloria
  • Crystalia
  • Yggdrasil
  • Caelondia
cool kingdom names

Why Kingdom Name is Important?

Names are just as important to people as to a kingdom. It not only gives a specific noun on a place, but it also gives it an overview and picture of the nation itself. The name of a kingdom gives value to the existence of a group of people. Without a name for themselves, these groups remain disorganized and nomadic among each other, not rallying on a single banner or ruler.

Names of a kingdom are not created overnight. They are born and formed based on the very people it houses. For example, the term “Arabia” was used to describe the inhabitants of the desert areas in the eastern regions of Egypt and Israel. The word “Norse” was derived from multiple dialects of the Northern European people. Words such as “noord”, “noorsch”, and “norsk” came from the old Dutch, Danish, and Norwegian languages respectively. All of these words mean “North” or “northern” and eventually became “Norse” in time.

Other kingdoms in history inspired their kingdom names on the name of their capital city, religion or belief, and iconic personality or royal family who founded the kingdom. An example is the Kingdom of Assyria, which based its name on its capital city Assur, with its inhabitants being called Assyrians. The Kingdom of Babylon is derived from their local language Babilim, and directly means “gate of the god”. The Kingdom of Israel was based on Jacob’s renewed name Israel, which means “God Perseveres”. It was given to him by God when he was chosen to father an entire nation of God’s chosen people that would be called Israelites, or “children of Israel”.

A kingdom name is important to a group to indicate its existence and give value to its territory and its people. It also emphasizes their ability to self-governance, self-reliance, power, and freedom over other competing kingdoms that they share their borders against. Lastly, it gives self-identity and pride to the people, marking their existence in the vast world.  

The 3 Most Famous Kingdoms in History

 

The Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire is considered the largest land empire to ever exist in history. It originated in present-time Mongolia and spread to western and southern parts of Asia, even reaching parts of Eastern Europe and the entire Iranian plateau. The term “Mongol” was derived from their local term mong which means “Brave”.

Their first emperor, Genghis Khan, unified the scattered tribes of the Mongol lands, incorporating them into a single army with him as emperor. He introduced newer and unseen military tactics that were never been seen before by older existing nations. Between the 13th and 14th century AD, Mongolians dominated central Asia, conquering and pillaging opposing kingdoms through their superior military tactics and smart use of cavalry and technology. During this period, most Western, Middle Eastern, and Chinese armies are equipped with much better armor and stronger weapons. While Mongols on the other hand were equipped with light leather armor, composite bows, discipline, and stout ponies. Mongols win wars by utilizing their mobility through their light ponies and sniping out enemy troops with their years-experience archery skills. Their savagery and merciless treatment of civilian settlements, churches, temples, and royal castles they conquer strike fear into the hearts of other nations.

But like any other rising kingdom, the Mongol Empire is short-lived, dying slowly from internal conflict among its members and fighting over the rightful successor of the Kingdom after the death of their great emperor.

kingdom name generator

Kingdom of Spain

The Kingdom of Spain rose to power in the early 15th century. Before the kingdom’s foundation, the Iberian Peninsula is occupied by numerous small kingdoms. The Kingdom of Castile occupied most of the Northern and Central peninsula while the Kingdom of Aragon covers a small portion at the northeastern border. They united as a single nation with the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, giving birth to the Kingdom of Spain.

The name Spain was derived from the Latin word Hispania. It was the early Romans who named the entire Iberian Peninsula Hispania when they conquered most of its lands in 218 BC. Because of its strategic location and flat lands, they used the province as a training ground for officers and key encampments for their campaigns against Carthaginians, Gallaecinas, and Celts. 

The Spanish Kingdom is best known for its competition against the Kingdom of Portugal in global exploration and colonial expansion. It was the Kingdom of Spain that funded the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan, thus opening routes across the Atlantic toward South America and the Pacific. Magellan’s expedition is the first successful circumnavigation of the world, proving the theory that the earth is a Globe. This expedition also led to the rapid follow-up expedition of Spain across South America and Southeast Asian Countries, spreading both Spanish influence and Christianity into new colonies.

The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire is best known as the East Roman Empire. Roman Emperor Constantine transferred all the governance of the entire Roman Empire into Byzantium, an ancient Greek colony. Christianity was chosen as the empire’s official religion, leading to the birth of the Holy Rome. After Constantine’s reign, the Empire was divided into East and West, with the Byzantine Empire becoming the strong Eastern Empire. The Byzantine Empire remained a strong kingdom for over one thousand years. Its strategic location, well-fortified walls, disciplined soldiers, and flourishing wealth contributed to this lasting kingdom’s stability. Additionally, the empire has a strong administrative rule and well-maintained internal politics which greatly contributed to the strength of the Empire.  

The word “Byzantine” is derived from the old Greek colony Byzantium, founded by a man named Byzas. Byzantium is located directly east of Bosporus Straight, situated in modern-day Istanbul, Turkey. The great city was renamed Constantinople in commemoration of Constantine I. It served as an ideal trade post between European and West Asian trade routes.

After over a thousand years of stability and greatness, the Byzantine Empire collapsed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire which successfully besieged the great city. Many factors contributed to this downfall such as the mismanagement of the Palaiologan emperors, the continuous defeats on the expensive Crusades, and the lack of European support for defending the city.

good names for a kingdom

Top Famous Kingdom Names in Games

Kingdom names are also a part of the storylines and plots in video games. In this section, we compiled a list of some of the famous kingdom names to exist in video games today. 

The Kingdom of Demacia – League of Legends

The Kingdom of Demacia is considered to be a lawful and honorable kingdom in the entire Runeterra. They are in constant war against another challenging kingdom, the Noxus. 

The Nilfgaardian Empire – The Witcher Series

The Nilfgaardian Empire is the dominant country in the world of the Witcher series. Ruled by Emhyr var Emreis, their kingdom continues to expand northwards leading them to be at constant war with the Northern kingdoms.

The Kingdom of Baron – Final Fantasy IV

The Kingdom of Baron is the home of the main protagonist of the series, Cecil Harvey. It is the largest and strongest kingdom and was known to be the only country with airship technology. 

The Kingdom of Lordaeron – Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos 

The Kingdom of Lordaeron is a Human Kingdom located in the central-northern part of the Eastern Kingdom continent. The kingdom became the main leader of the Alliance against the invading Orcish Horde during the First War. However, the kingdom collapsed with the outbreak of the undead plague leading to the downfall of the entire northern human kingdom.  

The Kingdom of Hyrule – The Legend of Zelda

Hyrule is the major setting where most of the Legend of Zelda series took place. It is described as a beautiful land with deep forests, lively mountains, great lakes, and treacherous deserts. It is also home to great cities, villages, and ancient temples. 

Tips for Creating Fantasy Kingdom Names

In this section, we will teach you some tips you can do to create a proper kingdom name and lessen the burden and worry in formulating newer versions. These tips will help you recall the things that you need to consider before even attempting to create names. Take a look at some of these suggested tips for you. 

Tip #1: Determine How Many Kingdoms You Want to Name.

Try to determine the number of kingdoms you want in your fantasy world. Knowing how many kingdoms you are going to name makes it easier and faster to produce names. Remember that we can limit the kingdoms in our fantasy world to narrow down our name searching or name creation. Although producing as many names as possible is also not a bad idea especially if you want a variety of options for your world. 

Tip#2: Dictate Your Kingdom’s “Themes”

By the term “theme”, we are referring to the characteristics of the kingdom you want to name. The kingdom name’s should directly impact your fantasy world!

Is the kingdom flourishing with life? Or is the kingdom dark and full of fugitives? Dictating the possible characteristics of your kingdom will make it easier for you to produce a name. Here are some of our examples of kingdom names according to their characteristics.

Cool Kingdom Names

Cool kingdom names should sound heroic, foreign, and memorable. The name should be easy to remember and cool-sounding when pronounced. Don’t forget the lavish spelling and pronunciation. Below are some examples:

  • Caradda
  • Yshkavel
  • Haradan
  • Bormosa
  • Kazugh’an
  • Rimaia
  • Trivali
  • Seddahr
  • Nedal
  • Urynna

Evil Kingdom Names

If you feel like having kingdoms with evil names, you should consider deep-sounding words, or grim names such as death, famine, blood, and bones. You may also include monster-like words such as vampires, witchcraft, trolls, or even undead languages from other sources. Check out some of our examples.

  • Baravine Kingdom
  • Deephowl Empire
  • Kara’dhun
  • Empire of Botheah
  • Blightsun Empire
  • Darkmoon Kingdom
  • Mooncove
  • Hellswrath
  • Ruvar Legion
  • Bonegrath

Holy Kingdom Names

Holy kingdoms are the complete opposite of dark kingdoms. You may also call kingdoms belonging to this category light kingdoms or blessed kingdoms. A holy name for a kingdom should sound light, alive, and glimmering. Below are some examples.

  • Alanaiah
  • Skyclad
  • Lumenar
  • Candavvyr Kingdom
  • Empire Illutaran
  • Sol’Agra
  • Mina Vorey
  • Yndavel
  • I’Llawe
  • Nin’Gavel Kingdom

Tip#3: Based the Kingdom Name on Their Location in the World

This technique is the easiest and most commonly used in creating good kingdom names. In this method, you as an author will divide your world into simple regions (such as east, west, north, and south). The division of the world and kingdoms is up to you and will depend on how lazy you are.

After dividing your world into locations, you can now create lazy kingdom names by assigning kingdoms to a particular region. For example, placing kingdoms at the center of your world makes that kingdom “generic” or has kingdom names based on the common tongue (English). Kingdoms in northern areas can have Viking or Norse-sounding names. Kingdoms placed in the east will take eastern names derived from either Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Those in the South can have Arabic or African-sounding names. Finally, those in the West can have European-sounding names.

While this method sounds dumb, we assure you that it’s the easiest and most commonly used in most video games today. Check out some of our examples.

Northerner Kingdom Name Suggestions

  • Valkyl
  • Halgrand
  • Medyr
  • Fallgard
  • Normenor

Middle Kingdom Name Suggestions

  • Holmright
  • Eagleridge
  • Vavarfen
  • Glaidian
  • Galarus

Eastern Kingdom Name Suggestions

  • Yazu Empire
  • Haikan Kingdom
  • Hiragai Country
  • Zhuen Dynasty
  • Hyejin Empire

Southern Kingdom Name Suggestions

  • Kingdom of Panzal
  • Kul’Varu Kingdom
  • Dhubbain Emirates
  • Rushdanh
  • Tangnuh Sultanate

Western Kingdom Name Suggestions

  • Burgrav
  • Reveran
  • Sladagar Kingdom
  • Quesalla Empire
  • Rizzi Empire

Tip#4: Use Other Fantasy Inspirations

We can always grab inspiration from other fantasy works around the internet. Take inspiration from RPG games like Elder Scrolls, which has different states and countries in it. The stories of Middle Earth and The Lord of the Rings have rich texts mentioning dozens of kingdom names for elves, men, dwarves, and orcs. You may also take inspiration from other epic story-based games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, and Pathfinder. 

Elven Kingdom Name Suggestions

  • Thala’Noir (Warcraft-Inspired Elven Kingdom)
  • Rivarneld (Middle-Earth Inspired Elven Kingdom)
  • Loncordia  (Narnia-inspired Elven Kingdom)
  • Mezzda (Witcher-inspired Elven Kingdom)
  • Norghod (Middle-Earth Inspired Elven Kingdom)

Tip#5: The Fantasy Kingdom Name Generator

There is a much easier and faster way of formulating kingdom names by using Name Generators. Kingdom name generators are a tool to produce randomly generated names for your kingdom. There are several advantages to using a kingdom name generator such as:

  • Being AI-powered – since name generators are AI-powered, the suggested names become as unique as possible, reducing the possibility that the name is duplicated or already provided by another name generator.
  • Fast and easy to use – since we are lazy, kingdom name generators can quickly supplement us with tons of suggested good kingdom names there is.
  • Free to Use – Kingdom name generators are free. Not to mention, they are abundant and all over the internet. You just have to pick what’s the best kingdom name generator for your needs.

In contrast, there are also disadvantages of using a name generator for your kingdom such as:

  • Randomly generated names – some names are too random, to the point their spelling, intonation, and tone do not make any sense at all. It may defeat your objective of having cool or good name ideas.
  • Requires a vivid search – since the suggested names are random and, most of the time, non-repeating, users will have to do stringent searches to be able to populate the best names the name generator can produce.
  • Too many available name generators – there are already numerous available name generators around So it will be up to the user to find and search for the best kingdom name generator that will meet their expectations and needs.

Table of Contents

Picture of Master Of Fantasy

Master Of Fantasy

Hello, folks! I am James Gillen a.k.a. the Master of Fantasy, I am a smuggler · From The Santa Claus & His Old Lady Commune, also I am one of the writers here, on generator1.net. I am an RPG player, reviewer and dreamer in the spirit. “I bring you greetings, reviewer of games! I am Bodor son of Todor, breaker of chains, slayer of dragons!" I hope you find my posts informative enough to help you with you name selection.