Empire Name Generator

How empire names are built

Empires are named in two ways. The first is after the people or city that started them, usually with an adjective: the Calarian Dominion, the Empire of Kordheim. The name tells readers which culture is on top, and it can be a source of bitterness for everyone else in it. The second is a title that describes the empire as it sees itself: the Gilded Empire, the Eternal Imperium. These sound grander and tend to be used by the court, while subjects use shorter names or nicknames.

An imperial name should feel larger than the people who bear it. That is easy to do with a long ending, and easier still with a title.

Keeping an empire's names consistent

Give the empire a formal name, a common one and a name its enemies use. Choose the demonym early: a citizen of the Calarian Dominion is a Calarian, and the provinces have older names that the empire has half-erased. Use the same grammar for its titles: if the ruler is a Sovereign and the land is a Dominion, an Emperor and a Hegemony would feel off. Look at how the name changes over time, too. An empire that begins as a kingdom keeps the old name in its coinage, and one that collapses shortens to the name of the capital. Keep a list, and let the change tell the story.

Twenty example empire names

• The Gilded Empire of Sevarion a sprawling trade power with golden roofs.
• Empire of Kordheim a northern empire built on iron and law.
• The Ashen Dominion what is left after the old capital burned.
• The Calarian Hegemony a league of cities dominated by one.
• The Iron Ascendancy a military state that never lost a siege.
• The Tarnovic Empire a mountain empire with a single great road.
• The Eternal Imperium it has declared itself permanent.
• Empire of Elorenne a graceful empire that collects poets.
• The Sunlit Dominion of Merathor a bright and sudden conqueror.
• The Veldmark Dynasty a ruling family that outlived its land.
• The Crimson Suzerainty a protectorate system that nobody dares leave.
• The Orsendal Empire a sea empire with a fleet and a debt.
• The Sovereign Throne of Ulvarin an empire that is mostly a court.
• The Pale Hegemony a cold state of tax collectors and monks.
• Empire of Asterene a scholar empire that fell to a storm.
• The Rising Mandate a young empire that claims divine favour.
• The Brandmark Imperium a harsh empire of garrison towns.
• The Shattered Dominion a collapsed empire with nine claimants.
• Empire of Lysandor a river empire that taxes every barge.
• The Undying Autocracy ruled by the same regent for two centuries.