This ancient civilization name generator makes names for the old empires of an invented world: the ones that built the ruins, wrote the unreadable inscriptions and left their words in the language. Each name is built on an invented root, which also gives the name of the people. Veshar gives the Veshari Empire, and its people are the Veshari.

Four Kinds of Civilization

Style	What it suits	Examples
River valley kingdom	Farming states with kings, temples and dynasties	The Veshari Empire, The City-States of Nimos
Sea power	Trading cities, island leagues and colonies	The Tolenite League, The Sea-Kings of Darath
Steppe and desert people	Riders, herders and confederacies of clans	The Riders of Karath, The Ishimi Clans
Lost civilization	Peoples known only from ruins and legend	Sunken Thalos, The Drowned Kingdom of Orath

How Real Civilizations Got Their Names

Few ancient peoples are known by the name they used for themselves. Mesopotamia is Greek for the land between the rivers. The Egyptians called their country Kemet, the black land, after the dark soil of the Nile. Phoenician is what the Greeks called a people who named themselves after their own cities. The Minoans were named in the twentieth century by the archaeologist Arthur Evans, after the legendary King Minos, and nobody knows what they called themselves. The Harappan civilization is named after Harappa, a modern village beside the first site to be excavated.

Using That in Your World

The lesson for an invented history is that a civilization can have several names, and the difference tells a story. Decide what the people called themselves, what their enemies called them, and what later scholars call them now that they are gone. The people's name option gives the first. The full name gives the label a historian in your world would use. A thalassocracy, one of the titles in the sea power style, is a state whose power rests on ships and trade more than on land.

How to Build the Civilization Around the Name

Leave words behind. Take the root and use it in a river, a mountain or a ruined city. Places keep old names long after the people have gone.
Choose what ended it. Flood, drought, conquest or a slow decline. The lost civilization style suggests one.
Decide who claims descent. Later kingdoms often say they are the heirs of an older one, truthfully or not.
Name what came after. The Kingdom Name Generator covers the successor states, the Dungeon Name Generator the ruins, and the Deity Name Generator the old gods. For names modelled on real history, see the Historical Kingdom Name Generator.

How to Use the Ancient Civilization Name Generator

Choose the format: Pick the full name of the civilization or the name of its people alone.
Choose a style: River valley kingdom, sea power, steppe and desert people, or lost civilization.
Generate and copy: Each press gives eight new names. Use the copy button beside the one you want.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I name a fictional ancient civilization?

Start with a short root of two syllables, then make two names from it: one for the people and one for their state. Veshar gives the Veshari and the Veshari Empire. Using the same root in a few place names makes the civilization feel as if it left traces.

Are these real civilizations?

No. Every root is invented, and names that match a real people, place or god are left out of the generator. For that reason the names carry no real history.

What is the difference between a civilization, an empire and a kingdom?

A civilization is a whole culture: its cities, writing, religion and customs. A kingdom or an empire is one state within it. Several kingdoms can belong to one civilization, as the Greek cities did.

What makes a civilization sound ancient?

Short, heavy roots, and titles that modern states do not use, such as dynasty, city-states and sea-kings. Adding old, first or lost in front of the name also places it in the distant past.

What is a good name for a lost civilization?

One that says how it was lost. Sunken Thalos and the Drowned Kingdom of Orath went under the sea. The Forgotten Veshari left no record. Choose the lost civilization style for these.

Can I use these names in a game or a book?

Yes. They are invented. Search for a name before you rely on it, since a short invented word can match something in a language you do not know.