Planet and System Names

If you saw yesterday's post on Alien Race Names, you may have thought, "What? Only alien names? Isn't he missing one of the biggest naming categories in science fiction?" Right on the nose, of course. Just as important as alien race names (if not moreso) are the names of the various planets and star systems in which sci-fi games take place.

If you are using licensed IP, such as Star Wars or Star Trek, I recommend just digging up the wiki for those settings or looking at your local library for a relevant encyclopedia. It's likely to be easier than making up names, and it will help your game feel like it's really set in those universes. And, of course, if your game is only set in the Sol system, I'd suggest looking up the names of the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, since there are enough orbiting bodies in this system for plenty of adventures. Finally, you might simply take the Stargate SG-1 route, and give everything an alphanumeric designation, such as PJ2-445 or P3W-451.

But, if you're looking to create unique(ish), original(ish) names for your planets and stars, here are some tables to get you started.

Planet and System Names

First half

1. Ivo-
2. Maka-
3. Dörre-
4. Musta-
5. Bète-
6. Guisi-
7. Sulu-
8. Uftúra-
9. Homma-
10. Nsâto-

Second half

1. -rana
2. -far
3. -molo
4. -táza
5. -legas
6. -wîle
7. -ban
8. -thàn
9. -kat
10. -läch

Prefix

1. Blue
2. Bright
3. Neo
4. New
5. Far
6. Alpha

Suffix

1. Cluster
2. Beta
3. Minor
4. Major
5. Tau
6. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, etc.

Basic names

1. Heinlein
2. Adams
3. Butler
4. Asimov
5. Clarke
6. Verne
7. Le Guin
8. Vonnegut
9. Bradbury
10. Lem