bravo1102 at 4:45AM, Jan. 25, 2020

One proposed origin for the term yankee is a good example of this too. Some have suggested is that it's an Indian word for "smelly folk" and given to English in New England because of their poor hygiene compared to NE Native Americans.

bravo1102 at 4:41AM, Jan. 25, 2020

And then there's making up your own language for place names. It always surprised me how many group names merely mean "people" (many native American) or how many come from warfare. (Franks, Saxons, Zulu) Placenames can also come from the word for "home" or "where we live" or be named for folk who live there (Wessex is West Saxons, China is land of the C'hin) . Excellent examples are all around you. Look into the Placenames where you live and you'll see examples of all these things.

fallopiancrusader at 8:27PM, Jan. 24, 2020

Another thing that I try to keep in mind is coming up with names that are user friendly (i.e. easy to remember). Whenever I read a sci-fi/fantasy comic with characters or locations whose names are really long, convoluted, made-up gibberish sounds, I lose track of what's going on pretty quickly.

Andreas_Helixfinger at 3:43PM, Jan. 24, 2020

Coming up with name for things is my favourite when writing science fantasy, I tend to go quite nuts with it writing alien cultures to the point of wanting to replace common terms with brand new ones, but I try to tie them to words that suggests the same thing as the ones I'm replacing them with and make them ring in a way that will mesh with the alien culture in question. I also love combining words a lot^^

entropy0013 at 3:42PM, Jan. 24, 2020

In Sci-Fi is the place a functional only purpose like semi permanent mining site 23, where the crews and facilities leave before the extreme seasonal climate hits. Or like colony called Tillerman's Folly since the colony sprung up around a crashed water cargo ship, using the power core for colony and water purification, and the growth is chaotic and layered around the crash site.

Banes at 8:09AM, Jan. 24, 2020

Great advice! I've been trying to put together a sci fi thing and also a dark fantasy thing, and naming locations, monsters, gods, and people is challenging. Naming regular folks and towns is challenging enough, let alone fantastical ones.