A city map comes alive when its districts have names people actually use. This fantasy district name generator names trade quarters, markets, streets, rich and poor districts, docks, temple precincts and mages' quarters, in the plain, practical way real old cities named their parts.
How real cities named their districts
Old city names are practical. The City of London still has Bread Street, Milk Street and a street called Poultry, named after what was sold there, and Cheapside takes its name from the Old English word for a market. York's Shambles is named after the benches butchers sold meat from. Paris has the Latin Quarter, where the university students spoke Latin.
The generator follows the same habits:
- Trade quarters are named after the trade: the Tanners' Quarter, the Spicers' Street.
- Markets after what they sell: the Saltmarket, West Flowermarket.
- Streets and lanes after a landmark: Lantern Row, Moonglass Alley, Tarry Steps.
- Rich districts sit up high: the High Terrace, Crown Hill.
- Rough ends sound it: the Rookery was the name for crowded London slums like St Giles, and Ragfair for the old-clothes markets.
Building a city map
A city feels real when its districts disagree: a temple quarter beside the docks, a rich terrace above a slum. Generate a name for each part, then give the city a few streets that link them. If players ask for directions, "down Swan Row and past the Cloisters" sounds better than "the north district".
Name the city first with the Fantasy City Name Generator, then fill its streets with businesses from the Tavern Name Generator and the Fantasy Shop Name Generator.
For more maps and settlements, see all the place name generators.