This village name generator makes names for the villages on a fantasy map or in a story. It builds them the way English village names are built: a plain word, and an ending that says what sort of place it is. Otterford is a river crossing. Alderhurst is a wooded hill. Each name is shown with the meaning of its ending, so you can choose one that fits the ground the village stands on.

Endings by Landscape

Landscape	Endings and what they mean
Farmland	-ton (farm or settlement), -ham (homestead), -worth (enclosure), -stead (place), -field (open land), -thorpe (outlying farm), -by (farm or village), -bury (fortified place)
Forest	-ley (clearing in a wood), -hurst (wooded hill), -holt (small wood), -den (woodland pasture)
Coast	-mouth (mouth of a river), -haven (harbour), -ness (headland), -wick (outlying farm or trading place)
Mountain	-dale (valley), -fell (hill or mountain), -thwaite (clearing), -garth (enclosure), -combe (short valley)
River and marsh	-ford (river crossing), -bourne (stream), -mere (lake or pool), -bridge, -well (spring)

The endings -by, -thorpe, -thwaite, -garth, -fell and -dale came into English from Old Norse. The rest are Old English.

Let the Ending Describe the Place

A name of this kind is a short description, and readers feel it even if they do not know the words. A village called Reedmere should have a lake. One called Stonethwaite was cut out of rough ground by people who spoke a northern tongue. If your village stands at a river crossing, choose a name in -ford or -bridge, and the map will seem to have a history behind it.

Naming a Whole Region

Repeat the endings. Real districts have runs of the same ending: a valley full of names in -dale, a coast full of names in -by. Three villages with one ending look like neighbours.
Change the ending at a border. Where -ton gives way to -thorpe, a traveller has crossed from one old kingdom into another.
Wear the names down. People shorten what they say every day. Barleythorpe becomes Barthorpe within a few generations. Drop a syllable for a name that sounds older.
Name the big places differently. A city usually has an older, stranger name than the villages around it.

Larger places are in the Fantasy City Name Generator and the Kingdom Name Generator. The inn on the green can be named with the Tavern Name Generator, the lord's seat with the Castle Name Generator, and the families who live there with the Fantasy Last Name Generator.

How to Use the Village Name Generator

Choose where the village stands: Pick farmland, forest, coast, mountain, or river and marsh.
Generate: Each press gives six names, each with the meaning of its ending.
Copy the one you want: Use the copy button beside it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are village names made?

Most English village names are two parts: a describing word and an ending that says what kind of place it was. Oxford was a ford used for oxen. This generator keeps the real endings and puts a plain English word in front.

What do the endings mean?

The commonest are -ton (a farm or settlement), -ham (a homestead), -ford (a river crossing), -ley (a clearing in a wood) and -by (a farm or village, from Old Norse). The table on this page lists all 26 the generator uses.

Are these real villages?

Some are. The endings are real and the first words are common, so names such as Ashby, Oakley and Thornton exist in England many times over. That is not a problem for a fantasy map, but do not expect every name to be new.

Is the first word Old English too?

No. In real place names the first part is usually an Old English or Old Norse word, often worn down over a thousand years. Here it is a modern English word, so the name is easy to read.

What is the difference between a village, a hamlet and a town?

A hamlet is a handful of houses, traditionally without a church. A village is larger and has one. A town has a market. The names do not differ, so any name here suits all three.

Which endings suit the north of a map?

The Old Norse ones: -by, -thorpe, -thwaite, -garth, -fell and -dale. In England they are found where the Vikings settled, in the north and east. Using them in one part of your map suggests a different people once lived there.