OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Desert Name Generator
Fantasy Desert, Wasteland and Dune Sea Names for Maps and Stories
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How the Desert Name Generator works
This desert name generator names deserts for fantasy maps and stories: descriptive names such as the Red Waste and Saltpan Basin, ominous names such as the Sea of Glass and the Bone Flats, and ancient-sounding names such as the Khar'ama Expanse, for a D&D campaign, novel or game world.
How the desert name generator works
Real deserts are named after their colour, the Red Centre, the Painted Desert, a feature such as salt, or a word from a local language, as Sahara is simply Arabic for deserts. Fantasy deserts add menace: the generator's ominous names hint at what killed the last travellers. Ancient names give a desert history, perhaps the old empire that lies buried under the dunes.
Deserts in worldbuilding
A desert is a barrier and a test, so give it features worth naming: an oasis, a salt pan, a road of bones, a ruined city. Words like erg, a sea of dunes, reg, a stony plain, and playa, a dry lake, add authenticity. Desert peoples often have many names for the same place depending on season and route.
More fantasy places
Name the rest of the map with the mountain, river and lake name generator, the island name generator and the town name generator.
FAQ
What does Sahara mean?
Sahara comes from the Arabic word for deserts, ṣaḥārāʾ. The Gobi likewise comes from a Mongolian word for a waterless place, and many desert names simply mean desert or dry land in a local language.
What is an erg?
An erg is a large area of shifting sand dunes, sometimes called a sand sea. Most of the Sahara is not erg but stony plain, called reg or hamada. Using these terms makes fantasy deserts feel more real.
Can I use these desert names in my game?
Yes. The names are invented for fiction, games and worldbuilding, and you can use them freely in a home campaign, a novel, a short story or a published game, with no credit needed.
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