Every civilization you make is kept here, newest first, up to the last 20. The list stays in this browser.
Civilization of the day
The VarniteTriumvirate, which rose on the delta of a long river and is remembered for stone granaries raised on mushroom-shaped legs.
The EkheneConfederacy, which rose on the valley of a silt-yellow river and is remembered for maps drawn with south at the top.
The VeshariDynasty, which rose on a high valley in the mountains and is remembered for gardens planted on rafts.
The HespariOligarchy, which rose on a marsh drained field by field and is remembered for a calendar of thirteen even months.
The FyrariImperium, which rose on the mudflats of an inland sea and is remembered for a festival held once every twelve years.
The KytheneDynasty, which rose on a marsh drained field by field and is remembered for a plow that its neighbors named after it.
The DreshicImperium, which rose on a terraced highland and is remembered for a single epic poem, known only from quotations.
The EkhiteConfederacy, which rose on a coast of natural harbors and is remembered for stepped towers aligned to the solstice.
The RaskeneDynasty, which rose on a coast of natural harbors and is remembered for walls fitted so tight that paper will not pass between.
The FarakiteConfederacy, which rose on the banks of a lake that floods each spring and is remembered for statues that all face the same empty hill.
The HespeneConfederation, which rose on the banks of a lake that floods each spring and is remembered for sewers older than its oldest temple.
The HuraveneUnion, which rose on a marsh drained field by field and is remembered for a road paved with river shells.
The DresheneEmpire, which rose on a crossroads of caravan trails and is remembered for glass beads found three seas away.
The OlthariRealm, which rose on the banks of a lake that floods each spring and is remembered for a script nobody can read.
The RaskiteCommonwealth, which rose on the mudflats of an inland sea and is remembered for a counting system in base twelve.
The SelkariTimocracy, which rose on the well-watered soil of a lowland river basin and is remembered for wells lined with fired brick.
The VoskariCommonwealth, which rose on the valley of a silt-yellow river and is remembered for a census taken with knotted cords.
The LumarariUnion, which rose on the banks of a lake that floods each spring and is remembered for a single epic poem, known only from quotations.
The GhalariTetrarchy, which rose on a chain of desert oases and is remembered for an alphabet of only eleven letters.
The SelkiteTetrarchy, which rose on the foothills where three rivers leave the mountains and is remembered for a game played on a board of nine squares.
This civilization name generator makes up an ancient people for a story, a game or a class project: a name such as the Voskari League, the kind of ground it rose on and the one thing it is remembered for.
Read the full guide
Name a people, then its age
Press New civilization name. Keep the people and change the polity to follow one nation from league to empire, or keep the ground and press for rivals on the same river.
Where real civilizations began
Seven of the Rose on lines follow the places where the first civilizations grew, such as the plain between the Tigris and the Euphrates and the river valleys of coastal Peru. The list below marks them and gives the dictionary meaning of each polity word, from league to tetrarchy.
Questions and answers
What makes a good civilization name?
A people-name and a word for how it was governed, as in the Orrelene Dominion or the Dreshari Compact. This page gives every people one of four endings: -ari, -ene, -ite or -ic.
Where did the first civilizations begin?
Scholars generally acknowledge six cradles of civilization: Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India and Ancient China in Afro-Eurasia, and the Caral-Supe civilization of coastal Peru and the Olmec civilization of Mexico in the Americas.
What is the difference between a civilization and an empire?
A civilization is a complex society with a state, cities and writing. An empire is one way to rule it: a political unit under an emperor or empress. Here Empire is one polity word among many.
Are these the names of real peoples?
No. Every people-name is invented. Each was checked against an index of the names of the world's languages and against Wikipedia, and a name that matched a real people, language or place was dropped.
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 92 invented people-names: a stem of our own with one of four endings (-ari, -ene, -ite, -ic), joined by script on 2026-10-03 and then chosen by hand. Screened by script that day against the ISO 639-3 index of language names (https://iso639-3.sil.org/code_tables/download_tables), an English dictionary, GeoNames places of 500 people and up with their alternate names (https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/, CC BY 4.0), every list on this site, a rude-word list read across the join, the page titles of 30 fan wikis of games, books and shows, and the page titles and full text of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). 61 candidates were cut by the screens, among them Thamari, Keshari, Keshene, Zuhrite, Corvene, and stems that recalled a real people, place or name were taken out by hand. Glottolog and lists of demonyms were not searched. No list is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Licence: own work
Polity: all 26 polity words
A 2
AllianceA union or connection of interests between states, by compact, treaty or league.
AscendancyThe quality of being in the ascendant; dominant control, supremacy.
C 4
CommonwealthThe entirety of a society, a polity, a state; also a republic.
CompactAn agreement or contract.
ConfederacyAn alliance; in politics, a state where the sovereign constituent units delegate their authority to the centre.
ConfederationA union or alliance of states or political organizations.
Show all 26 polity words (20 more)
D 3
DiarchyRule by two people; a state under the rule of two people.
DominionA kingdom, nation or other sphere of influence; governed territory.
DynastyA series of rulers from one family.
E 1
EmpireA political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.
F 1
FederationAn array of nations or states that are unified under one central authority.
G 1
GerontocracyGovernment by elders.
H 1
HegemonyDomination, influence or authority over another, especially by one nation over others.
I 1
ImperiumSupreme power; dominion.
L 1
LeagueA group or association of cooperating members.
O 1
OligarchyA government run by and for only a few; a state ruled by such a government.
P 2
PrincipalityA region or sovereign nation headed by a prince or princess.
ProtectorateThe authority assumed by a state over another state, which it protects from invasion.
R 3
RealmA territory or state, as ruled by an absolute authority, especially by a king; a kingdom.
RegencyA system of government that substitutes for the reign of a king or queen who has become unable to rule.
RepublicA state where sovereignty rests with the people or their representatives, rather than with a monarch or emperor.
S 1
SuzeraintyA relation between states in which a subservient nation has its own government but cannot act abroad independently of the superior state.
T 3
TetrarchyA government where power is shared by four people.
TimocracyIn the sense used by Aristotle, a form of government in which civic honor or political power increases with the amount of property one owns.
TriumvirateAny group of three joint rulers.
U 1
UnionSomething united, or made one: a confederation, a league.
How this list was compiled: 26 plain English words for a state or a way of ruling one. Each line follows a sense of the word's entry in English Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/, read on 2026-10-03, CC BY-SA 4.0); a script checked the words behind each line. Licence: own selection; meanings from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Rose on: all 21 settings
Where the first civilizations grew 7
a high valley in the mountainsAs the Chavín culture did, in the Andean highlands.
a river plain watered by the monsoonAs in ancient India, where the Ghaggar-Hakra river system was rain-fed and its water supply depended on the monsoons.
the delta of a long riverAs Lower Egypt did, on the Nile Delta.
Show all 21 settings (18 more)
Where the first civilizations grew, continued
four river valleys on a dry coastAs Caral-Supe did in coastal Peru: the Supe, Pativilca, Fortaleza and Huaura river valleys each have several related sites.
the plain between two great riversAs Mesopotamia did: the Tigris and Euphrates rivers produced rich fertile soil and a supply of water for irrigation.
the valley of a silt-yellow riverAs in ancient China, where the Yellow River valley was a center of the Peiligang culture, which flourished from 7000 to 5000 BC.
the well-watered soil of a lowland river basinAs the Olmec did in Mexico, helped by well-watered alluvial soil and the transport network of the Coatzacoalcos River basin.
Other ground 14
a chain of desert oases
a chain of islands within sight of each other
a coast of natural harbors
a crossroads of caravan trails
a marsh drained field by field
a monsoon coast
a terraced highland
the banks of a lake that floods each spring
black volcanic soil below a sleeping mountain
the foothills where three rivers leave the mountains
the grasslands below a wall of mountains
the islands of a shallow lagoon
the mudflats of an inland sea
the shore of a salt lake
How this list was compiled: 21 settings. The 7 under Where the first civilizations grew follow English Wikipedia's article Cradle of civilization (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization, read on 2026-10-03, CC BY-SA 4.0); a script checked the words behind each line. The rest are plain landscapes of our own choosing. Licence: own selection; the first group follows English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Remembered for: all 52 legacies
A 22
a blue dye whose recipe is lost
a calendar of thirteen even months
a canal that crosses a river on a bridge of its own
a census taken with knotted cords
a counting system in base twelve
a festival held once every twelve years
a game played on a board of nine squares
Show all 52 legacies (45 more)
A, continued
a law code carved on a single cliff
a plow that its neighbors named after it
a post relay that crossed its lands in six days
a recipe for barley bread, pressed into clay
a road paved with river shells
a royal road with a rest house every day's walk
a script nobody can read
a single epic poem, known only from quotations
a tax paid in songs
a treaty that outlived both the states that signed it
a wall where the height of each year's flood was cut
an alphabet of only eleven letters
an oath sworn on a bowl of salt
an observatory with no roof and no door
aqueducts that still carry water
B 4
bells cast so true that two still ring in tune
bowls turned from stone, thin as an eggshell
breeding horses small enough for mountain paths
burial mounds laid out like its star maps
C 2
clay tablets baked hard by the fire that ended it
coins with a hole for stringing
D 1
doors that were never built with locks
E 1
ending, by its own vote, on a known day
F 1
the first known loan of seed grain
G 3
gardens planted on rafts
glass beads found three seas away
grain stores that fed its neighbors through a long drought
L 2
leaving no walls at all, only orchards in straight lines
looms wide enough to weave a sail in one piece
M 2
maps drawn with south at the top
music written for instruments nobody has found
R 2
roads that still drain after rain
roofed bridges that were also markets
S 8
schools where scribes learned sums before letters
seals so small they were carved under a lens
sewers older than its oldest temple
signal fires that crossed its lands in one night
star charts painted on the ceilings of its granaries
statues that all face the same empty hill
stepped towers aligned to the solstice
stone granaries raised on mushroom-shaped legs
T 1
terraces cut so high the clouds sit below them
W 3
walls fitted so tight that paper will not pass between
weights and measures that three later realms copied
wells lined with fired brick
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 52 made-up legacies, written on 2026-10-03 to read after the words is remembered for. None describes a real civilization. Checked by script against every list on this site for repeats. Licence: own work