🏘️ Settlement Name Generator
Generate fantasy settlement names with meanings and audio pronunciation. Choose a name style and a size for hamlets, villages, towns, and cities built from real place-name words.
What Is a Settlement?
A settlement is any place where people live together, from a hamlet of a few farms to a walled city. In fantasy worldbuilding and tabletop games, settlements are sorted by size. The 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide puts a village at up to about 1,000 people, a town at 1,000 to 6,000, and a city at 6,000 to 25,000.
Real settlement names are short descriptions in old languages. The Old English word tun meant farmstead, so Ashton was the farmstead by the ash trees. Old Norse by meant village, and Latin castra meant fortress camp, which became chester in names like Manchester. Lists of these place-name elements show how 2 short words build a believable town.
How to Use the Settlement Name Generator?
The settlement name generator works in 4 steps. It holds 1,242 unique settlement names, and every name has a meaning.
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1. Pick a Name Style
Pick English, Norse, Celtic, Germanic, or Latin. The style sets the language of both parts, such as Old Norse by (village) or Welsh aber (river mouth).
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2. Choose a Settlement Size
Pick Hamlet, Village, Town, or City. The size sets the place word, such as cot (cottage) for a hamlet or chester (Roman fort) for a city.
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3. Generate Names
Click Generate. More Options adds an optional length or first-letter filter.
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4. Listen, Save, and Copy
Click 🔊 to hear a name. Click ♡ to save it. Click 🔒 to keep the first part and pair it with new endings.
How to Name a Settlement?
A believable settlement name joins a landmark word with a place word, such as Thornwick (thorn bush trading town). Real towns were named after a tree, a river, an animal, or a building nearby, so the name reads like a short description. The size of the place shapes the second word, because a hamlet has a cottage and a city has a fort or a great church. The table below shows the 5 name styles with an example for each.
| Name Style | Language | Example Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Old English | Cranwick | Crane trading town |
| Norse | Old Norse | Ravnthwaite | Raven meadow |
| Celtic | Welsh and Gaelic | Abereryr | River mouth of the eagles |
| Germanic | German | Tannfurt | Fir ford |
| Latin | Latin | Castra Aquilae | Fortress of the eagle |
4 Quick Tips for Naming a Settlement
- Name it after the land. A grove, river, or hill gives the place a real setting, as in Lundvik (grove bay).
- Match the size. A hamlet suits Elmcot, and a capital city suits Stanchester.
- Keep 1 language per region. Norse names on one coast and Latin names in the old empire make a map feel real.
- Say it out loud. Players repeat settlement names often, so 2 or 3 syllables work best, as in Foxham.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good fantasy settlement name?
A good fantasy settlement name joins a landmark with a place word in one language. Examples include Cranwick, Ravnthwaite, and Castra Aquilae. Each name in this generator also has a meaning.
What is the difference between a hamlet, a village, a town, and a city?
The difference is size. A hamlet is a few homes with no church, a village has a church and a few hundred people, a town has a market, and a city is the largest, often walled. The 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide puts a city at 6,000 to 25,000 people.
What do -ton, -by, and -chester mean in town names?
The ending -ton comes from Old English tun (farmstead), -by comes from Old Norse by (village), and -chester comes from Latin castra (fortress camp). These endings appear in real names like Brighton, Whitby, and Winchester.
How do I name a town in D&D?
A D&D town name can join a local landmark with a place word, such as Foxford or Hirschtal. Picking 1 language per region keeps the map consistent, and this generator sorts names by style and size.
Can I use these settlement names on my map?
Yes, every name is free to use on maps, in D&D campaigns, and in novels. The generator leaves out famous real places, such as Bradford and Rosenheim.