Planet Name Generator for Sci-Fi Games

Choose a planet type and a tone and get 12 planet names with a short description of each world. Hard sci-fi names come with a catalog-style designation, space opera names sound grand, and alien names sound like no human chose them.

Step 1 of 2: Planet type
What kind of world is it?

How to use it

  1. Choose a planet type, such as Ocean world, Gas giant or Tidally locked world, and press Next.
  2. Choose Hard sci-fi, Space opera or Alien, and press Generate planet names.
  3. Star the planets you like, then press Generate more.
  4. Press Copy all or Download list to save them.
  5. Press Copy Ziva prompt to have Ziva build a clickable galaxy map.

How real exoplanets are named

A real exoplanet's scientific designation is its host star's name followed by a lowercase letter: 51 Pegasi b, WASP-19 b, GJ 1214 b. The letters run b, c, d and so on in order of discovery, and planets found at the same time are lettered by increasing orbital period.

The IAU has also given some exoplanets public names through its NameExoWorlds contests, such as Banksia for WASP-19 b, and states that these names do not replace the scientific designations. That is why the Hard sci-fi option gives each world both a colonist-style name and a catalog line. The survey codes it uses are invented, so they will not point at a real star.

Match the name to the tone of your game

In hard sci-fi, people name worlds the way they name towns: after founders (New Okafor), hopes (Halden's Landing) or what they saw first (Deepwater). Space opera names are built to be shouted across a bridge: Latin-sounding stems with Prime, Major or a Roman numeral. Alien names use sounds and apostrophes that feel unfamiliar, so the player knows humans were not the first to arrive.

Keep one style per faction. If the empire names its worlds Thalion Prime and the colonists call the same rock Saltreach, the map tells the story before any dialogue does.

Frequently asked questions

How do you come up with a planet name?
Decide who named it. Scientists use catalog numbers, colonists use founders and landmarks, empires use grand titles, and natives use their own language. The generator's three tones follow those rules.
Are the catalog numbers real?
No. They follow the real pattern of a catalog name, a number and a lowercase planet letter, but the survey codes are invented so they do not match a real star.
Is the planet name generator free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no account and no AI calls.
Can I use these planet names in my game?
Yes. The names and descriptions are yours to use in any project.
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