So, I needed to come up with a name for a religion. Sounds simple, right? Just slap a label on it. Yeah, well, it turned out to be a real headache.
First, I just started throwing sounds together. You know, trying to make something cool, mysterious sounding. Stuff like “K’tharr” or “Luminae”. Honestly, most of it sounded like cheap fantasy novel rejects. Or maybe a brand of yogurt. Total dead end, felt pretty dumb afterwards.
Then I thought, okay, be logical. What’s the religion about? Is there a main god? A key idea? Let’s name it after that. So if it was, say, about some Sky Serpent, I’d try “Serpent Cult” or “Way of the Sky Snake”. Problem was, it all sounded so bland. So generic. Like something you’d click past in a game description. It just had no punch, no real identity.
Getting Down to Basics
I got stuck for a bit. Realized the actual problem wasn’t the naming itself. The problem was I hadn’t really dug into what this religion was. What did these imaginary people actually believe? What were their core values, their big fears, their main story? It’s like trying to name a person you’ve never met.
So, I stopped trying to find a name. Instead, I started jotting down the guts of the belief system. Just simple stuff:
- What’s the creation story, basically?
- What’s the main rule or goal?
- Is there an afterlife? What’s it like?
- What’s a daily practice look like?
Basically, I had to understand the thing before I could possibly name it. You can’t just pick a name out of thin air and hope it fits. It has to connect to the core, the actual meat of the beliefs.
Trying Again, Feeling It Out
Once I had a better handle on the religion’s actual feel – was it supposed to feel ancient, comforting, scary, strict? – I went back to naming. This time felt different. I wasn’t just grabbing random words.
I looked at the core ideas I’d written down. Let’s say the religion was heavily about cycles, like seasons or rebirth. I started playing with words and sounds related to that. Not literally “Cycle-ism”, because that sounds clinical. But maybe sounds or roots that suggested turning, returning, or natural flow. I tried different languages, looking for pieces I could twist into something new.
Made a new list. Said them out loud. A lot. Paced around the room saying them. Most still sucked. But a couple… a couple started to feel less like random noise and more like they belonged to the ideas I’d fleshed out.
Picking One (Finally)
In the end, I picked one. Not because it was some stroke of genius, perfect in every way. But because it felt right enough. It clicked with the core beliefs, it sounded okay when spoken, and it wasn’t obviously terrible. And honestly, I needed to move on. You can spin your wheels forever on naming something.
So yeah, that was my process. Messy, frustrating, involved backing up and figuring out the fundamentals first. You really gotta understand the soul of the thing you’re naming. The name should grow out of that, not just be stuck on top like a cheap sticker.
