City Name Suggestions

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Recently there has been an influx of new users. While it hasn't happened yet, we sometimes get people who are stuck on picking city names, so I thought it might help if I put in the names I am using in one of my larger regions. Some the names are out and out nonsense, some from literature, some from my experience, and some of them are interlingual puns. Enjoy.

If anyone has comments or specific questions on the origin of these, I'll be happy to oblige.

[Magneto 316]

Ingersoll, isn't that in Austria? For my region I mixed prefixes according to the position or function (main, north, southern, industrial) with generic suffixes (central, lake, river, district, end). Rather unoriginal but it does the job for small regions

[The Avatar 1,089]

I assume Bronyville originated from the Pony craze here at ST? I'm surprised there wasn't a Bouncingrainbowsheepville.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Ingersoll, isn't that in Austria? For my region I mixed prefixes according to the position or function (main, north, southern, industrial) with generic suffixes (central, lake, river, district, end). Rather unoriginal but it does the job for small regions

It is also a town in Ontario famous for cheese making.

I assume Bronyville originated from the Pony craze here at ST? I'm surprised there wasn't a Bouncingrainbowsheepville.

A little too long, and I only wanted a single reference to that craze.

Did you try translating Affenburg? It is a German phrase.

  Edited June 23, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[Yarahi 1,816]

...and we also have some useful links that will help creating that special fantasy city-name

Town Name Generator (just refresh the page for more)

Serendipity

City Name Generator (download)

Did you try translating Affenburg? It is a German phrase.

Now, don't go all "ape" on us mister Moose

  Edited June 23, 2012 by yarahi  

[dabadon5 295]

Play around with Google Earth. Look at big cities and their suburbs. You can always find something interesting.

[iowndiscti 141]

Hello Nonny!

as someone whom is "not so new " here, just like yourself i understand what you mean. there has been times where i didnt know what to name a specific city. luckily i came up with a nice naming method to create a cool city name. i works for me usually about 95% of the time.

firstly people must know these definitions.

Dale- an area between two mountains

Port- an town or city where ships unload

ville- french for city. short for village

view- a place of natural beauty

vista- spanish for view

polis- greek for city/state or community

springs- an area of natural water

with these in mine you can use these general rules to come up with a fictional city name pretty quickly. ( most of these are suffixes, but a few can be used as prefixes and these rules dont have to be followed exactly)

Dale- add a place of natural beauty before it

port- add a extremely hard earthy short word before it. if used as a prefix add a short name to the begining of it

ville- add a extremely common noun to the front

view- follow the rules of dale

vista- add spanish, portugese, or french word to begining

polis- any word not ending with "e" in the front ( usually common name or general noun)

heights- any word in front

here are a few examples of how these rules work

" Oceandale, Glendale, Riverdale, Prariedale, Hillsdale, Steelport, Rockport, Woodsport, Coalport, Ironsport,Port Micheal, Port Anne, Townsville, Seaville, forestville, Valleyview, Forestview, Lakeview, Alto Vista, Blanco Vista, Noir vista, Rubro Vista, Pizzalopolis, Indianapolis, Vermanopolis, Minneapolis, Annapolis, Arlington Heights, Dearborn Heights, Caldera Heights, Valleyview Heights, Springvale heights, Hemingway Heights"

as you can see there are a few hiccups on the way, but like i said those rules usually work for me about 95% of the time. i actually have a bigger list of words, but i didnt want to completely spam your topic with it

[DavidB_ 83]

Turn this into a proper guide topic or something! I give you guys the "Quadrant Mountain Chuck Norris" or something like that

Edit: We already have a "guide" in the Omnibus (can't find a link right now)

  Edited June 25, 2012 by DAB_City  

[Inca1987 5]

Here's a lil soptin' that might help:

aber mouth (of a river), confluence, a meeting of waters Aberystwyth, Aberdyfi, Aberdeen, Aberuthven Further information: Aber and Inver (placename elements)

ac, acc, ock acorn, or oak tree Accrington[2], Acomb, Acton, Matlock[3]

afon [1] river River Avon, Glanyrafon W afon is pronounced "AH-von"; several English rivers are named Avon. In Irish the word, spelled "abhann", is mainly (though not exclusively) pronounced OW-en

ar, ard [4] height Armagh, Ardglass

ash ash tree Ashton-under-Lyne[5]

ast east Aston[6]

auch(en)-, ach- [4] field Auchendinny, Auchenshuggle, Achnasheen anglicised from achadh. Ach- is generally the Highland form, and Auch- the lowland. Auchen- "means field of the X" (Achadh nan X)

auchter- [4] height, top of something Auchtermuchty, Auchterarder anglicised from Uachdar

axe, exe, usk from isca, meaning water Exeter, River Axe (Devon), River Exe, River Usk, Axminster.

ay, y, ey [7] island Ramsay, Westray, Lundy[8], Orkney

bal, balla, bally, ball [4] farm, homestead Ballachulish, Balerno, Ballymena, Ballinamallard anglicised from baile

beck [7] stream Holbeck[9], Beckinsale, Troutbeck, Cod Beck cf. ger. Bach

berg, berry [7] hill (cf. 'iceberg') Roseberry Topping, In Farnborough (OE Fernaberga) [10], berg has converged toward borough

bex box, the tree Bexley, Bexhill-on-Sea [11] The OE name of Bexhill-on-Sea was Bexelei, a glade where box grew.[11]

blen, blaen fell, hill, upland Blencathra, Blencogo, Blaenau Ffestiniog

bost [7] farm Leurbost cf. ster, (bol)staðr; this form is usually found in the Outer Hebrides

bourne, burn brook, stream Bournemouth, Eastbourne[12], Ashbourne, Blackburn Further information: Bourne (placename)

cf. ger. -born as in Herborn

brad broad Bradford[13]

bre [1] hill Bredon, Carn Brea

bury, borough, brough, burgh fortified enclosure Aylesbury, Dewsbury, Bury[14], Middlesbrough[15], Edinburgh, Bamburgh, Peterborough See Borough for further information and other uses. Burgh is primarily Northumbrian and Scots. Cf. nl. and ger. Burg

by [7] settlement, village Grimsby[16], Tenby also survives in bylaw and by-election

carden thicket Kincardine, Cardenden

caster, chester, cester, ceter camp, fortification (of Roman origin) Lancaster[17], Doncaster, Gloucester, Caister, Manchester, Worcester, Chester, Exeter

caer, car [1] camp, fortification Caerdydd, Caerleon, Carlisle[18], Caerfyrddin derived from Brythonic "caer" cf Chester (OE.)/Castra (L.)

Further information: Caer

cheap, chipping market Chipping Norton[19], Chipping Campden, Chepstow also as part of a street name, e.g. Cheapside. 'Chippenham' is from a personal name.

combe valley Woolacombe (Devon), Doccombe, Ilfracombe[20] usually pronounced 'coo-m' or 'cum', cognate with cwm

coed [1] wood, forest Betws-y-coed

cot, cott cottage, small building or derived from Bry/W Coed or Coet meaning a wood Ascot, Draycott in the Clay, Swadlincote [21]

cul narrow Culcheth[22]

cwm, cum [1] valley Cwmaman, Cumdivock, Cwmann, Cwmbran, Cwm Head Borrowed into old English as suffix "coombe". 'Cwm' in Welsh and 'Cum', in Cumbric.

cum with Salcott-cum-Virley, Cockshutt-cum-Petton Used where two parishes were combined into one. Unrelated to Cumbric cum.

dal [4] meadow, low lying area by river Dalry, Dalmellington Cognate with and probably influenced by P Dol

dale [7] valley OE, allotment OE Airedale i.e. valley of the River Aire, Rochdale, Saxondale Cognate with Tal (Ger.), dalr (ON)

dean, den, don valley (dene) Croydon[23], Dean Village, Horndean, Todmorden[24] the geography is often the only indicator as to the original root word (cf. don, a hill)

din, dinas [1] fort Dinas Powys homologous to 'dun'; see below

don, den hill Abingdon[25], Bredon, Willesden

drum [4] ridge, back Drumchapel, Drumnacanvy, Drumnadrochit anglicised from druim

dun, dum [4] fort Dundee, Dumbarton, Dungannon derived from dùn.

Further information: Dun

ey, ea, eg, eig island Romsey[26], Athelney, Ely cf. Low German -oog as in Langeoog

ey enclosure Hornsey[27], Hay (-on-Wye) separate meaning to -ey 'island' - see above

field open land, a forest clearing Sheffield[28], Huddersfield, Wakefield, Mansfield, [[Macclesfield], Mirfield cf. ger. Feld

fin white, holy Findochty anglicised from 'fionn'

firth wood or woodland Holmfirth, Chapel-en-le-Frith [29]

firth [7] fjord, inlet Burrafirth, Firth of Forth from Norse fjorðr

ford, forth ford, crossing Bradford, Ampleforth, Watford cf. ger. -furt as in Frankfurt am Main

fos, foss ditch River Foss, Fangfoss[30] Separate from ON 'foss, force' - see below

foss, force [7] waterfall Aira Force, High Force Separate from L/OE 'fos, foss' - see above

gate road Gate Helmsley[31], Holgate

garth [7] enclosure Aysgarth cf. ger. -gart as in Stuttgart

gill, ghyll [7] ravine, narrow gully Gillamoor, Garrigill, Dungeon Ghyll

glen [4] narrow valley, dale Rutherglen, Glenarm, Corby Glen anglicised from gleann

gowt [32][33] Water outfall, sluice, drain Guthram Gowt, Anton's Gowt *1

ham farm, homestead, [settlement] Rotherham[35], Newham, Nottingham[36] often confused by hamm, an enclosure; cf. nl. hem and ger. Heim

hithe, hythe wharf, place for landing boats Rotherhithe[37], Hythe, Erith

holm island Holmfirth, Hempholme [38]

hope valley, enclosed area Woolhope, Glossop [39] cf. ger. Hof

howe mound, hill, knoll, Howe, Norfolk, Howe, North Yorkshire [40]

hurst (wooded) hill Dewhurst, Woodhurst [41] cf. ger. Horst

ing people of Reading [42], the people (followers) of Reada, Spalding, the people of Spald[43] *2

ing place, small stream Lockinge[45] difficult to distinguish from -ingas without examination of early place-name forms.

inver [4] mouth of (a river), confluence, a meeting of waters Inverness cf. 'aber'.

Further information: Aber and Inver (placename elements)

keld spring Keld, Threlkeld[46]

keth, cheth wood Penketh, Culcheth[22] cf. W. 'coed'

kil [4] monastic cell, old church Kilmarnock, Killead anglicised from Cill

kin [4] head Kincardine, Kinallen anglicised from Ceann

king king, tribal leader King's Norton, King's Lynn[47], Kingston, Kingston Bagpuize, Coningsby[48]

kirk [7] church Kirkwall, Ormskirk, Colkirk cf. ger -kirch as in Altkirch

kyle [4] narrows Kyle of Lochalsh anglicised from Caol

lan, lhan, llan [1] church, churchyard, village with church, parish Lanteglos (Cornwall), Lhanbryde (Moray), Lanercost, Llanbedr Pont Steffan, Llanybydder, Llanwenog, Llannwnen Further information: Llan (placename element)

lang long Langdale[49], Great Langton, Kings Langley cf. ger. -langen as in Erlangen

law, low from hlaw, a rounded hill Charlaw, Tow Law, Lewes, Ludlow[50] often a hill with a barrow or hillocks on its summit

le from archaic French lès[51], in the vicinity of, near to Chester-le-Street Hartlepool appears to contain le by folk etymology; older spellings show no such element.

lea, ley, leigh from leah, a woodland clearing Barnsley[52], Hadleigh, Leigh cf. nl. -loo as in Waterloo, ger. -loh as in Gütersloh

lin, llyn [1] lake (or simply water) Lindow, Lindefferon, Llyn Brianne, Pen Llyn

ling, lyng heather Lingmell

magna great Appleby Magna, Chew Magna, Wigston Magna Primarily a medieval affectation

mere lake, pool Windermere[53], Grasmere, Cromer[54]

minster large church, monastery Westminster, Wimborne Minster[55] cf. ger. Münster

moss Swamp, bog Mossley, Lindow Moss, Moss Side[56] cf. ger. Moos

mouth Mouth (of a river), bay Plymouth, Bournemouth cf. ger. Münden or Gemünd

mynydd [1] mountain Mynydd Moel

nan, nans valley Nancledra (Cornwall)

nant [1] ravine or the stream in it Nantgarw, Nantwich same origin as nan, nans above

ness [7] promontory, headland (literally 'nose') Sheerness, Skegness, Inverness, Furness

nor north Norton, Norbury, Norwich [57]

pant [1] a hollow Pantmawr

parva little Appleby Parva, Wigston Parva

pen [1] head (headland or hill) Penzance, Pendle, Penrith also Pedn in W. Cornwall

pit portion, share, farm Pitlochry (Perthshire), Pitmedden, Pittodrie homologous with K peath

pol pool or lake Polperro (Cornwall), Poltragow

pont [1] bridge Pontypridd, Pontheugh can also be found in its mutated form bont, e.g., Pen-y-bont (Bridgend); originally from Latin pons

pool harbour Liverpool, Blackpool, Hartlepool [58]

porth [1] harbour Porthcawl, Porthaethwy

port port, harbour Davenport

shaw a wood Penshaw, Openshaw [59] a fringe of woodland

shep, ship sheep Shepshed, Shepton Mallet, Shipton, North Yorkshire

stan stone, stony Stanmore, Stamford[60], Stanlow cf. ger. Stein

stead place, enclosed pasture Hampstead, Berkhamsted [61] cf. ger. Stadt or -stätt as in Eichstätt

ster [7] farm Lybster, Scrabster cf. -bost from (bol)staðr

stoke dependent farmstead, secondary settlement Stoke-on-Trent[62], Stoke Damerel, Basingstoke

stow (holy) place (of assembly) Stow-on-the-Wold[63], Padstow, Bristol,[64] Stowmarket

strath [4] wide valley, vale Strathmore (Angus) derived from srath (but conflated with Brythonic "Ystrad")

streat, street road (Roman) Spital-in-the-Street, Chester-le-Street, Streatham derived from strata, L. 'paved road'

sud, sut south Sudbury[65], Sutton

swin pigs, swine Swindon, Swinford (Leicestershire)[66]

tarn lake In modern English, usually a glacial lake in a coombe.

thorp, thorpe secondary settlement Cleethorpes[67], Thorpeness an outlier of an earlier settlement.

Further information: Thorp

cf. ger. Dorf

thwaite, twatt [7] a forest clearing with a dwelling, or parcel of land Huthwaite, Twatt

tre [1] settlement Trevose Head, Tregaron, Trevercraig

tilly [4] hillock Tillicoultry, Tillydrone

toft [7] homestead Lowestoft

treath beach Tywardreath

tun, ton enclosure, estate, homestead Tunstead, Warrington, Brighton[68], Coniston OE pronunciation 'toon'. Compare en. town, nl. tuin (garden) and ger. Zaun (fence); all derived from Germanic root 'tun

upon by/"upon" a river Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Stratford-upon-Avon

weald, wold high woodland Wealdstone, Stow-on-the-Wold[63], Southwold cf. ger. Wald

wick, wich, wych, wyke place, settlement Norwich, Ipswich, Alnwick related to Latin 'vicus' (place), cf. nl. 'wijk'

wick [7] bay Runswick, Wick, Lerwick cf. Jorvik (modern York)

whel mine or cave Wheldrake

worth, worthy, wardine enclosure Tamworth[69], Farnworth, Holsworthy, Bredwardine

ynys [1] Island Ynys Mon (Anglesey)

*1 First ref gives the word as the local pronunciation of 'Go Out'; Second as 'A water-pipe under the ground. A sewer. A flood-gate, through which the marsh-water runs from the reens into the sea.'. Reen is a Somerset word, not used in the Fens. Gout appears to be cognate with the French égout, sewer. Though the modern mind associates the word 'sewer' with foul water, it was not always necessarily so.[34]

*2 sometimes survives in an apparent plural form e.g. Hastings[44]; also, often combined with 'ham' or 'ton'; 'homestead of the people of' (e.g. Birmingham, Bridlington); cf. nl. and ger. -ing(en) as in Groningen, Göttingen, or Straubing

Can't for the life of me remember where I got this (years ago) but kept it and use it very often.

And pls don't ask me waht the [4]s or [7]s mean -- I haven't got a clue!

Cheerio!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

...and we also have some useful links that will help creating that special fantasy city-name

Town Name Generator (just refresh the page for more)

Serendipity

City Name Generator (download)

Did you try translating Affenburg? It is a German phrase.

Now, don't go all "ape" on us mister Moose

No, I was just monkeying around.

[westy177 203]

lol for my city names i use some names from sc3000 cities i made is also use the piece of lands geography also i use pun names like i use to live in the NZ city called Hamilton but its nickname ids Hamiltron so i called it that and sometimes when i'm extremely uncreative i just take a name of a city and put new in the front

[JayStimson 211]

If all else fails, one could simply use city and town names in their own real life area.

SC4 doesn't really care and most people looking at pictures in city journals are interested in the content, not the name.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

For the record: there's an Omnibus-article about this subject: https://www.simtropolis.com/omnibus/_/simcity-4/tutorials/guide-to-naming-your-city-r107

Best,

Maarten

[2farnorth 26]

Iv'e found the original (and easier to read) version of inca1987's info on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_forms_in_place_names_in_the_United_Kingdom_and_Ireland

Its about 10 pages, if you want to print it.

[simfan 11]

When all else fails, come up with stupid names. One of my cities is called LOLOLOLOLOLAGE!

[Wiecher 192]

I have a few ways to find city names:

- When I play on a real world map, I give the cities the names that the corresponding location has in the real world, even if my city is completely fictional. I choose the names of the smallest hamlets nobody ever heard of that are in that region. I sometimes change some letters as well.

For example, when I play on the map of San Bernardino/Riverside, there is a place called Secombe, after a park in downtown San Bernardino.

- For other places, I just look in my own area for small villages and then kind of 'Englishify' (not translate) the name of it if that's necessary. Example: Nijeveen is a village near my hometown, Newfen in Simcity. Or, near my university is a neigbourhood called Paddepoel, I called it Toadpool in SC4.

- An other way is to just look around my house for random objects. Sometimes I just choose the name of the object, like Plate or Fishfood, other times it can be the brand name, like Philips, Atari, Sphinx, Blueband.

- For the endless generic suburbs of my cities, I just look in the phonebook for interesting last names and name the town after them. I mostly do this in rural areas, when there are few villages or none at all. I then add a word behind it related to the surroundings like Jansens Field, Arends Creek, etc.

- Sometimes no city name is needed and it will be just coordinates telling the position on the map, (2,3) is third city tile down from the second column. This is mostly for ocean tiles or complete wastelands, like 100% snow covered tiles.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

And then, of course, there is the region name database that's included in Landscape Designer.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Thanks for this guide. It might be useful for newcomers and veteran players alike.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

In my region and fictional country Schellingen, I Germanify some existing placenames. Examples:

• Amersfurt (Amersfoort)
  
• Arnheim (Arnhem)
  
• Suessensee (Zoetermeer)
  
• Doeber (Dover)
  
• Basternaecken (Basternaken/Bastogne)
  

Sometimes you just have to change existing placenames a bit to make new ones:

• Middelburg -> Middelbrugge -> Mittelbruecken
  
• Heide -> Anderheide
  
• Terschelling -> Schellingen
  
• Maas -> Maser (I have a river in my fictional country named like that)
  

You can also "Frankenstein" names. Cutting down existing names and combine them to new ones. For example:

• Frankfurt + Mannheim = Frankenheim
  
• Frankfurt + Flensburg = Flensfurt
  
• Frankfurt + Den Haag = Hagenfurt
  
• Mannheim + Dannzig = Mannzig
  

You can also go for the suffix method. You name something after a person or a thing and add a suffix. In German you would get endings like:

• ...stadt
  
• ...stedt
  
• ...dorf
  
• ...ruhe
  
• ...nach
  
• ...heim
  
• ...reuth
  
• ...mund
  
• ...furt
  
• ...wald
  
• ...muenster
  

Sometimes very common placenames work too, like Bergen (there are a few Bergen's in the world, so why not use that name?) or you can add an unique suffix like a river name where your city is nearby (Alphen on the Kareel).

And if that doesn't work, I just choose something that sounds right, like for German:

• Darsnen
  
• Briggen
  
• Schwanau
  
• Ziel
  
• Mach
  
• Kandenz
  
• Varenz
  
• Marzell
  

Anyway, those are my methods.

Best,

Maarten

[Inca1987 5]

Iv'e found the original (and easier to read) version of inca1987's info on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia....dom_and_Ireland

Its about 10 pages, if you want to print it.

Yeahs!!! That's it - Thank you so much for the lost link 2farnorth.

Much easier to read indeed.

I've bookmarked it this time. (Hope I don't loose it again.)

[andre8 0]

My method of coming up with a city name is to translate English words and phrases into Greek or Latin, as they are a great starting point for city names. Sadly, this can be time consuming.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Actually, the Google translator will take stuff into Koine (modern Greek), so that's some help. Of course you then have to know how the Greek alphabet works to get back to Latinized text. For example: β = v; μη = b; ττ = ss (usually)

[Fatherted 129]

Zauberes Port-Clean Port *Facepalm*

[madhatter106 3,903]

When all else fails, come up with stupid names. One of my cities is called LOLOLOLOLOLAGE!

I have to confess, the main reason I don't view the CJ section of this site very often is because of the names people give their cities/journals. I won't name specific real names, but here's a sampling of the type/style of naming that turns me off from even clicking on a journal.

The Federation of Algolagniaria

Republic of Delveykystahn

United Kingdom of Borrowalletsky

Yes, it's probably judgemental and I'm probably missing out on seeing some great stuff. But the naming makes me not even want to view them. But then again, I name all my cities after towns in Stephen King novels (Castle Rock, Derry, Ludlow, Salem's Lot, etc.) so what do I know?

[andre8 0]

Actually, the Google translator will take stuff into Koine (modern Greek), so that's some help. Of course you then have to know how the Greek alphabet works to get back to Latinized text. For example: β = v; μη = b; ττ = ss (usually)

I just set Google Translate so that it reads phonetically.

[simfan 11]

When all else fails, come up with stupid names. One of my cities is called LOLOLOLOLOLAGE!

I have to confess, the main reason I don't view the CJ section of this site very often is because of the names people give their cities/journals. I won't name specific real names, but here's a sampling of the type/style of naming that turns me off from even clicking on a journal.

The Federation of Algolagniaria

Republic of Delveykystahn

United Kingdom of Borrowalletsky

Yes, it's probably judgemental and I'm probably missing out on seeing some great stuff. But the naming makes me not even want to view them. But then again, I name all my cities after towns in Stephen King novels (Castle Rock, Derry, Ludlow, Salem's Lot, etc.) so what do I know?

I have to agree madhatter106, people make useless names that sound like Eastern European countries.

[TekindusT 3,809]

@simfan, @madhatter106: To avoid this kind of problems when making a commie/soviet/21st century Russian CJ, the best you can do is grab Google Earth, activate the labels and pick a city in the middle of nowhere. If you don't like the name, keep trying. This is how my city of Krasnoslobodsk in the Tenements & Rust City Journal was born. Not to mention that Krasnoslobodsk is an actual city [link].

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

@simfan, @madhatter106: To avoid this kind of problems when making a commie/soviet/21st century Russian CJ, the best you can do is grab Google Earth, activate the labels and pick a city in the middle of nowhere. If you don't like the name, keep trying. This is how my city of Krasnoslobodsk in the Tenements & Rust City Journal was born. Not to mention that Krasnoslobodsk is an actual city [link].

My Russian is almost non-existent. I know that krasno- is a prefix for red, and -sk or -osk if often a suffix for place, or city, but what does this translate to?

[madhatter106 3,903]

@simfan, @madhatter106: To avoid this kind of problems when making a commie/soviet/21st century Russian CJ, the best you can do is grab Google Earth, activate the labels and pick a city in the middle of nowhere. If you don't like the name, keep trying. This is how my city of Krasnoslobodsk in the Tenements & Rust City Journal was born. Not to mention that Krasnoslobodsk is an actual city [link].

It's not that I'm making a CJ (Russian/soviet-themed or not) or even contemplating making one. It's when I see city journals on this site with what I am judging to be idiotic names (The Glorious United Confederation of Mekloblahviatsia, or some other silly sounding thing), I never want to click on them - because of the name. There could be tons of interesting pictures in there, and I'd be the first to admit it - the stupid name is what turns me off.

Now, a CJ named "Tenements and Rust," I would click on it. But if you had named it Krasno-what-have-you, I would definitely have passed it by.

[Wiecher 192]

@simfan, @madhatter106: To avoid this kind of problems when making a commie/soviet/21st century Russian CJ, the best you can do is grab Google Earth, activate the labels and pick a city in the middle of nowhere. If you don't like the name, keep trying. This is how my city of Krasnoslobodsk in the Tenements & Rust City Journal was born. Not to mention that Krasnoslobodsk is an actual city [link].

It's not that I'm making a CJ (Russian/soviet-themed or not) or even contemplating making one. It's when I see city journals on this site with what I am judging to be idiotic names (The Glorious United Confederation of Mekloblahviatsia, or some other silly sounding thing), I never want to click on them - because of the name. There could be tons of interesting pictures in there, and I'd be the first to admit it - the stupid name is what turns me off.

Now, a CJ named "Tenements and Rust," I would click on it. But if you had named it Krasno-what-have-you, I would definitely have passed it by.

I would not go to a CJ named Mekloblahviatsia, because it's just randomly placed letters. But Krasnoslobodsk looks at least like a real city name and is obviously different, because it seems to follow normal grammatical rules and has recognizable combinations in it, like starting with krasno and the combination dsk at the end.