Kingdom Names: 82 Fantasy Kingdom Names With Meaning

Kingdom names have to work on a map, on a coin and in a battle cry. That's a lot to ask of one word. This list has 82 original fantasy kingdom names with meanings, grouped by style and by the kind of land they suit, plus a short guide to the endings that make a name sound like a country.

Roll more with the kingdom name generator.

All of these kingdoms are invented, along with their meanings. The notes on real endings and real countries further down are factual.

Fantasy kingdom names with meaning

• Aldermark: could mean "the old borderland"
• Valdrenne: could mean "land of two valleys"
• Ostragar: could mean "the eastern stronghold"
• Solmere: could mean "sun lake"
• Lorenthia: could mean "land of laurels"
• Corvane: could mean "crow country"
• Hallowmere: could mean "the blessed lake"
• Wintergard: could mean "winter's enclosure"
• Aurelan: could mean "the golden land"
• Galehaven: could mean "shelter from the gale"
• Highmarch: could mean "the upper frontier"
• Emberlund: could mean "land of embers"
• Thornwald: could mean "forest of thorns"
• Marenhold: could mean "the fortress by the sea"

Medieval kingdom names

These borrow the sound of a real region without copying a real country.

• Merrowald: sounds Saxon, could mean "the border forest"
• Garenne: French-sounding, good for a wine country
• Hohenmark: German-style, could mean "the high border"
• Alvarra: an Iberian-sounding mountain kingdom

Bressany, Caldermont, Dunmarch, Falkenmark, Gaulmont, Lombrey, Montrevain, Norwald, Osterlund, Wendmark, Aubrienne, Tharmark

Cool kingdom names

• Umbravia: a kingdom where the sun sets early
• Kaldrath: sounds like a sword being drawn
• The Sundered Crown: two kings, one country
• Zarenth: short, sharp and easy to chant

Cindervast, Dawnwarden, Frostholm, Grimvale, Ironmoor, Skarland, Thundermark, Vyrland, Wraithmoor, Embercrown, Brighthelm, Varkmoor

Good kingdom names by type of land

Forest kingdoms

• Verdelain: could mean "the green plain"

Elmarch, Fernholt, Greenwald, Sylvarre, Oakengard

Desert kingdoms

• Qasira: could mean "the sun's own country"

Amberdune, Sandmark, Solkara, Zhaleen, Dunmira

Sea and island kingdoms

• Thalassene: built on a classical word for the sea

Coralis, Islemark, Marisar, Pelagar, Tidewyn

Mountain and snow kingdoms

• Hochfell: could mean "the high mountain"

Cragmoor, Rimeland, Stonereach, Alpengard, Kaldfjell

Empires, duchies and other kingdom name ideas

Not every country is a kingdom. The title is part of the name.

• The Grand Duchy of Lindermark: too small to be a kingdom, too proud to admit it
• The Free Cantons: no king and a great many opinions
• The Empire of the Nine Rivers: counts its rivers generously
• The Lantern Crown: a kingdom ruled from a lighthouse

The Kingdom of Two Shores, The Principality of Sarn, The Summer Throne, The Dominion of Ash and Salt, The Old Marches, The Seven Baronies, The Commonwealth of Farrow, The Tidewater Throne

How to name a kingdom: endings and what they mean

Most country names, real and invented, are a root plus an ending that means land. These are real:

• -ia: the Latin way of saying "land of", as in Britannia
• -land: exactly what it says
• -mark: a borderland, as in Denmark
• -gard: an enclosure, from Old Norse
• -heim: home
• -wald and -wold: forest
• -stan: "land of" in Persian

For the root, copy how real kingdoms got their names:

1. From a people. England is the land of the Angles; France is named for the Franks. Invent a tribe, then add an ending: the Loren become Lorenthia.
2. From geography. The Netherlands are the low lands. Highmarch, Solmere and Rimeland work the same way.
3. From a founder or dynasty. Lorraine goes back to a ruler called Lothair. A kingdom called Aurelan might have had a Queen Aurela.

Then decide on the long form. The Kingdom of Aurelan is for treaties; people who live there say Aurelan, or just home.

Tips for choosing a kingdom name

• Do the citizen test. What are people from there called? Aurelani and Corvaner work; if you can't make one, change the name.
• Make neighbors sound different. Two kingdoms ending in -ia side by side blur together.
• Use the ending to hint at history. A -mark was once somebody's frontier, so whose?
• Keep it shoutable. Soldiers have to yell it.

More names for your map

Name the planet with fantasy world names, the capital with city names and the people who defend it with knight names. The kingdom name generator gives ten new ones per click.

FAQ

What are good kingdom names?

Aldermark, Valdrenne, Solmere and Aurelan. A good kingdom name is two or three syllables, easy to say and ends in something that sounds like land.

What are cool kingdom names?

Umbravia, Kaldrath, Zarenth, Frostholm and Thundermark. Hard consonants and weather or shadow words give a name some edge.

How do I name a fantasy kingdom?

Pick a root from its people, its landscape or its founder, then add an ending such as -ia, -mark, -land or -gard.

What do kingdom name endings mean?

The suffix -ia means 'land of', -mark is a borderland, -gard is an enclosure, -heim is home and -wald is a forest.