How the planet name generator works
Each planet type has its own syllable bank, and every name is an opening, an optional middle and an ending. Rocky worlds get hard, mineral sounds like Ferr (from ferrum, Latin for iron) and Skarn, a real kind of rock. Gas giants get airy roots like Cael (sky) and Zeph (wind). Ice worlds borrow Norse and Latin words for frost and snow, ocean worlds lean on sea words like thalassa and unda, and habitable worlds use soft roots for spring, light and forest.
A filter throws out clumsy letter clusters and rejects the names of the planets, major moons and dwarf planets of our solar system, bright stars, constellations and famous fictional planets such as Tatooine, Arrakis, Pandora, Vulcan and Krypton. What is left sounds like a real world without copying one.
Set Form to In a star system for names like Kelvara b, the way astronomers name exoplanets: the star's name plus a lowercase letter, starting at b. A catalog code gives names like KSV-212 c, in the style of real survey codes but with an invented prefix. Or turn on designations to add a tag such as Prime or a Roman numeral, as classic science fiction does.
That is Quick mode: instant and unlimited. For something more specific, switch to Custom mode, set a few options and add a sentence of details. An AI language model suggests 10 original names, each with how to say it and a suggested meaning, and More like this gives you variations on any name you like.
Planet names with meanings and notes
Hand-picked by our editors. Copy one, or use them as a starting point.
| Name | Meaning or note |
|---|---|
| Ferrox | Rocky. From ferrum, Latin for iron; a rust-red world |
| Pyreth | Rocky. Pyr is Greek for fire, for a volcanic planet |
| Caldorn | Rocky. Cald echoes caldera, the crater a volcano leaves |
| Gravorn | Rocky. From gravis, Latin for heavy; a high-gravity world |
| Skarnath | Rocky. Skarn is a real type of metamorphic rock |
| Kragast | Rocky. Craggy and windswept, made for a mining colony |
| Magox | Rocky. Mag hints at magma under a thin crust |
| Teskorn | Rocky. Sharp consonants for a world of jagged peaks |
| Caelaris | Gas giant. From caelum, Latin for sky |
| Jovorus | Gas giant. Jov nods to Jove; Jupiter-like planets are called Jovian |
| Typhenne | Gas giant. Echoes typhoon, for a planet of endless storms |
| Zepharis | Gas giant. Zephyr is the gentle west wind of Greek myth |
| Heloria | Gas giant. Hel nods to helium, which fills real gas giants |
| Nebados | Gas giant. A hazy world of banded, nebula-colored clouds |
| Ormoria | Gas giant. Grand and rolling, with a long royal ending |
| Velithon | Gas giant. Smooth and stately, suits a ringed world |
| Xanithon | Gas giant. The X gives it a distant, alien feel |
| Hrimion | Ice world. Hrim is Old Norse for frost |
| Nivalis | Ice world. Latin for snowy |
| Hiemith | Ice world. From hiems, the Latin word for winter |
| Chionost | Ice world. Chion is Greek for snow |
| Krysund | Ice world. Krys comes from the Greek word for ice crystal |
| Svalis | Ice world. Old Norse sval means cool, as in Svalbard |
| Kaldova | Ice world. Kald means cold in Danish and Norwegian |
| Haelheim | Ice world. A frozen home of hail and howling wind |
| Fjelith | Ice world. Fjel echoes fjell, the Norwegian word for mountain |
| Thalisse | Ocean world. From thalassa, the Greek word for sea |
| Marea | Ocean world. Spanish for tide, from Latin mare, sea |
| Pelessa | Ocean world. Pel echoes pelagos, Greek for open sea |
| Pontis | Ocean world. Pontus was the primordial sea god of Greek myth |
| Undoria | Ocean world. From unda, Latin for wave |
| Nautorina | Ocean world. Naut comes from the Greek word for sailor |
| Lirys | Ocean world. Lir is a sea god of Irish legend |
| Salessa | Ocean world. Sal is Latin for salt |
| Verora | Habitable. Ver is Latin for spring |
| Florise | Habitable. From flos, the Latin word for flower |
| Lumoria | Habitable. Lum nods to lumen, Latin for light |
| Sylvoria | Habitable. From silva, Latin for forest |
| Havira | Habitable. Sounds like haven, a safe harbor for colonists |
| Belmere | Habitable. A mere is a lake, for a world of calm waters |
| Wenanthe | Habitable. The ending comes from anthos, Greek for flower |
| Korum Prime | Rocky. Prime marks the main world of a system |
| Caelaris IV | Gas giant. In sci-fi, a Roman numeral gives a planet's place from its star |
| Nivalis b | Ice world. Real exoplanets get a lowercase letter, starting with b |
| Thalisse Secundus | Ocean world. Latin for second, for a sister planet |
| Verora Colony | Habitable. A young settlement on the frontier |
| Pyreth Minor | Rocky. The smaller of two volcanic twins |
| Hrimion Station | Ice world. An orbital outpost high above the glaciers |
Tips for choosing a good name
Match the sound to the surface
Hard consonants like K, R and X suit rocky, hostile worlds. Soft vowels and L or M sounds suit ocean and habitable planets. Pick a planet type above and the generator does this for you.
Name the whole system
Give sibling planets one root and different designations: Korum Prime, Korum II and Korum b. Readers will see at once that they circle the same star.
Give a world two names
Settlers might call a planet Verora while the survey team logs it as Verora IV. A local name and an official one make a world feel lived in.
Say it over the radio
Your characters will shout the name through static. If it is hard to say twice fast, generate again.