: Re: What are some good strategies to use when naming a fictional city? I've read a lot of the questions on here concerning naming characters and deciding on whether to use a fictional city. I

@Gonzalez219

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Within the US:

place names all over the country derive from tribal names and native-American toponyms: Seattle, the Dakotas, Massachusetts.
cities are named for prominent people who died before the city was founded; as the countries was settled east-to-west, more westward cities are named for more recent people (William Pitt died in 1778; Lincoln in 1865)
in the Southwest, city names are typically Spanish, often beginning with San/Santa (meaning "sainted" or "holy") or Los/Las/El/La (all words for "the")
in the Midwest, cities often incorporate geographical features, ending in "Falls", "Buffs", or "Hill"
on the East Coast, many cities are named for coastal features: "Bay", "Cove", "Beach".

Pick where you want your city to be (or to suggest being), find a dozen cities in that area, look for a rule, and invent a name that fit both that rule and the mood you are trying to create.

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