Roman City Name Generator

Press New city name for a made-up Roman town: a real Latin head word and what it is named for.

Roman City Name Generator: 20 towns

Castra Paludum, a Roman town that stands near pits where millstones are cut, built round a forum paved with gray stone.

Padlock: keep a part. Arrows: change only that part.

Head wordCastra
Named forPaludum
Standsnear pits where millstones are cut
Built rounda forum paved with gray stone

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Every town you make is kept here, newest first, up to the last 20. The list stays in this browser.

Town of the day

Fossa Viarum, a Roman town that stands beside a row of lime kilns, built round a stable where the couriers swap horses.
Lucus Textorum, a Roman town that stands at the end of a road the legions built, built round a legion's granary.
Thermae Imbrium, a Roman town that stands just inside the customs gate, built round a column that every road is measured from.
Colonia Navium, a Roman town that stands at a milestone where the road forks, built round a tile works that stamps the town's name on every tile.
Pons Navium, a Roman town that stands at the first rest stop out of the capital, built round a stable where the couriers swap horses.
Thermae Rosarum, a Roman town that stands on an avenue of cypresses, built round a fountain where four streets meet.
Colonia Navium, a Roman town that stands at a milestone where the road forks, built round a mosaic floor of sea creatures.
Thermae Luporum, a Roman town that stands at the end of a road the legions built, built round a forum paved with gray stone.
Forum Speluncarum, a Roman town that stands at the end of a road the legions built, built round a wool market.
Pons Testudinum, a Roman town that stands where the tin traders rest their mules, built round a column that every road is measured from.
Pons Corylorum, a Roman town that stands on the road the salt carts take, built round a tile works that stamps the town's name on every tile.
Thermae Rotarum, a Roman town that stands on the road the salt carts take, built round a temple with six columns.
Arae Pavonum, a Roman town that stands in a valley of walled orchards, built round a wool market.
Pons Pavonum, a Roman town that stands at a crossing of two paved highways, built round a mosaic floor of sea creatures.
Pons Silvarum, a Roman town that stands on the road the salt carts take, built round a stadium for foot races.
Portus Luporum, a Roman town that stands on the old border between two tribes, built round a column that every road is measured from.
Castra Figulorum, a Roman town that stands a day's march from the frontier wall, built round a library given by a rich citizen.
Forum Fullonum, a Roman town that stands beside an aqueduct on tall arches, built round an arch with three openings.
Praetorium Columnarum, a Roman town that stands beside an aqueduct on tall arches, built round a stadium for foot races.
Vicus Ficorum, a Roman town that stands on winter pasture for mountain flocks, built round a theater of stone seats.

Next step Name a citizen of the town Name the legion camped nearby

How it works

This Roman city name generator makes two-word Latin names the way Rome did: a head word that says what the place is, then what it is named for. Aquae Luporum is the waters of the wolves.

Read the full guide

Press, then lock the head word

Press New city name. The head word is the kind of place: Aquae is a spa, Castra a camp, Forum a market town. Tap it, press its padlock and press again for a new second word. Forum Pinorum is the market of the pines.

A Roman town name generator with real grammar

Every second word is a Latin genitive plural, the "of the ..." form, so it fits any head word: Castra Fabrorum is the camp of the smiths. The list under the tool gives each word, its meaning and, for each head word, a real town that carried it.

Tips

Match the head word to your map: Portus needs a coast, Pons a river, Aquae a spring.
Print 20 towns at once to fill a province.

Questions and answers

How did the Romans name their cities?

Often with a head word for the kind of place and a second word for a person, a people or a thing. Aquae Sulis, now Bath, was the waters of Sulis, and Castra Regina, now Regensburg, was a camp.

What does Castra mean in a Roman place name?

Castra is the Latin word for a military camp. The list under the tool gives the same kind of line for each head word, with a real town that carried it.

Are these real Roman towns?

No. Every name the rows can spell was checked against the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places and the Wikipedia lists of Latin place names, and the second word behind a real town was cut.

Head word: all 15 head words

A 3

Aquae Waters: a town at springs or baths, as in Aquae Sulis, now Bath.
Arae Altars, as in Arae Flaviae, now Rottweil.
Augusta The feminine of augustus, majestic or venerable, as in Augusta Treverorum, now Trier.

Show all 15 head words (12 more)

C 4

Castellum A fort or stronghold, as in Castellum Dimmidi, now Messaad.
Castra A military camp, as in Castra Regina, now Regensburg.
Castrum A fort, as in Castrum Novum, near today's Santa Marinella.
Colonia A colony, a settlement of Roman citizens, as in Colonia Agrippina, now Cologne.

F 2

Forum A market place, as in Forum Livii, now Forlì.
Fossa A ditch or trench, as in Fossa Clodia, now Chioggia.

L 1

Lucus A sacred grove, as in Lucus Augusti, now Lugo.

P 3

Pons A bridge, as in Pons Aelius, now Newcastle upon Tyne.
Portus A harbor, as in Portus Adurni, now Portchester.
Praetorium A general's headquarters, as in Praetorium Agrippinae, now Valkenburg in the Netherlands.

T 1

Thermae Warm baths, as in Thermae Himerenses, now Termini Imerese.

V 1

Vicus A village or a neighborhood, as in Vicus Martis Tudertium.

How this list was compiled: 15 Latin words that begin real Roman town names. The meaning of each was checked on 2026-10-03 in the Latin section of its English Wiktionary entry (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/castra and the entries for aqua, colonia, forum, portus, augustus, pons, lucus, ara, castrum, therma, castellum, fossa, vicus and praetorium; CC BY-SA 4.0). The real town beside each, and its modern name, were read that day in the English Wikipedia lists of Latin place names (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_place_names_in_Britain and the lists for Iberia, Italy and Malta, Continental Europe, the Balkans and Africa); Vicus Martis Tudertium is from the article Vicus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicus), and the lines for Castrum Novum and Praetorium Agrippinae follow the articles of those names (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrum_Novum, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorium_Agrippinae), because the lists give a medieval namesake for the first and a wider district for the second. The wording is ours. Nothing was cut. Nobody who teaches Latin has read this list. Licence: own selection; meanings from English Wiktionary and examples from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Named for: all 96 second words

Birds and beasts 21

Accipitrum Of the hawks, from accipiter, a hawk.
Anserum Of the geese, from anser, a goose.
Aprorum Of the boars, from aper, a wild boar.
Aquilarum Of the eagles, from aquila, an eagle.
Caprarum Of the goats, from capra, a goat.
Cervorum Of the deer, from cervus, a deer.
Ciconiarum Of the storks, from ciconia, a stork.

Show all 96 second words (89 more)

Birds and beasts, continued

Columbarum Of the doves, from columba, a dove.
Corvorum Of the ravens, from corvus, a raven.
Cygnorum Of the swans, from cygnus, a swan.
Equorum Of the horses, from equus, a horse.
Gruum Of the cranes, from grus, a crane.
Hirundinum Of the swallows, from hirundo, a swallow.
Leporum Of the hares, from lepus, a hare.
Luporum Of the wolves, from lupus, a wolf.
Noctuarum Of the owls, from noctua, an owl.
Pavonum Of the peacocks, from pavo, a peacock.
Ranarum Of the frogs, from rana, a frog.
Testudinum Of the tortoises, from testudo, a tortoise.
Ursorum Of the bears, from ursus, a bear.
Vulpium Of the foxes, from vulpes, a fox.

Trees and plants 17

Castanearum Of the chestnuts, from castanea, a chestnut.
Corylorum Of the hazels, from corylus, a hazel.
Cupressorum Of the cypresses, from cupressus, a cypress.
Ficorum Of the figs, from ficus, a fig.
Fraxinorum Of the ash trees, from fraxinus, an ash.
Hederarum Of the ivy vines, from hedera, ivy.
Iuncorum Of the rushes, from iuncus, a rush.
Laurorum Of the laurels, from laurus, a laurel.
Liliorum Of the lilies, from lilium, a lily.
Olivarum Of the olives, from oliva, an olive.
Palmarum Of the palms, from palma, a palm.
Pinorum Of the pines, from pinus, a pine.
Pirorum Of the pear trees, from pirus, a pear tree.
Quercuum Of the oaks, from quercus, an oak.
Rosarum Of the roses, from rosa, a rose.
Ulmorum Of the elms, from ulmus, an elm.
Violarum Of the violets, from viola, a violet.

People and trades 20

Agricolarum Of the farmers, from agricola, a farmer.
Amicorum Of the friends, from amicus, a friend.
Architectorum Of the architects, from architectus, an architect.
Discipulorum Of the students, from discipulus, a student.
Fabrorum Of the smiths, from faber, a smith.
Figulorum Of the potters, from figulus, a potter.
Fratrum Of the brothers, from frater, a brother.
Fullonum Of the fullers, from fullo, a fuller.
Hospitum Of the guests, from hospes, a guest.
Magistrorum Of the teachers, from magister, a teacher.
Mercatorum Of the merchants, from mercator, a merchant.
Nautarum Of the sailors, from nauta, a sailor.
Nuntiorum Of the messengers, from nuntius, a messenger.
Pastorum Of the shepherds, from pastor, a shepherd.
Poetarum Of the poets, from poeta, a poet.
Remigum Of the rowers, from remex, a rower.
Scribarum Of the scribes, from scriba, a scribe.
Sororum Of the sisters, from soror, a sister.
Textorum Of the weavers, from textor, a weaver.
Viatorum Of the travelers, from viator, a traveler.

Land, water and things 38

Ancorarum Of the anchors, from ancora, an anchor.
Camporum Of the fields, from campus, a field.
Clavium Of the keys, from clavis, a key.
Collium Of the hills, from collis, a hill.
Columnarum Of the columns, from columna, a column.
Coronarum Of the garlands, from corona, a garland.
Fluminum Of the rivers, from flumen, a river.
Fontium Of the springs, from fons, a spring.
Gemmarum Of the gems, from gemma, a gem.
Horreorum Of the granaries, from horreum, a granary.
Hortorum Of the gardens, from hortus, a garden.
Imbrium Of the rains, from imber, rain.
Insularum Of the islands, from insula, an island.
Lacuum Of the lakes, from lacus, a lake.
Lapidum Of the stones, from lapis, a stone.
Lucernarum Of the lamps, from lucerna, a lamp.
Montium Of the mountains, from mons, a mountain.
Navium Of the ships, from navis, a ship.
Nebularum Of the mists, from nebula, a mist.
Nivium Of the snows, from nix, snow.
Paludum Of the marshes, from palus, a marsh.
Portarum Of the gates, from porta, a gate.
Pratorum Of the meadows, from pratum, a meadow.
Puteorum Of the wells, from puteus, a well.
Riparum Of the river banks, from ripa, a bank.
Rivorum Of the brooks, from rivus, a brook.
Rotarum Of the wheels, from rota, a wheel.
Rupium Of the cliffs, from rupes, a cliff.
Saxorum Of the rocks, from saxum, a rock.
Silvarum Of the woods, from silva, a wood.
Speluncarum Of the caves, from spelunca, a cave.
Stellarum Of the stars, from stella, a star.
Tegularum Of the roof tiles, from tegula, a tile.
Turrium Of the towers, from turris, a tower.
Undarum Of the waves, from unda, a wave.
Vallium Of the valleys, from vallis, a valley.
Ventorum Of the winds, from ventus, a wind.
Viarum Of the roads, from via, a road.

How this list was compiled: 96 Latin nouns in the genitive plural, the "of the ..." form, which stays the same after any head word; real towns were named this way (Castra Exploratorum, the camp of the scouts). Each form was checked by script on 2026-10-03 against its own English Wiktionary entry (for example https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/luporum, "genitive plural of lupus") and the meaning against the Latin section of the noun's entry (CC BY-SA 4.0). Every two-word name the Head word and Named for rows can spell was checked that day, with and without the space, against the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places (https://pleiades.stoa.org/downloads, CC BY 3.0), the eight English Wikipedia lists of Latin and Roman place names, places of 500 people and up worldwide in GeoNames (https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/, CC BY 4.0), every list on this site, a rude-word list read across the join (https://github.com/LDNOOBW/List-of-Dirty-Naughty-Obscene-and-Otherwise-Bad-Words) and exact page titles on English Wikipedia; the second word behind a match was cut. 16 candidates were cut: 5 whose form or meaning Wiktionary did not bear out (Cerasorum, Veteranorum, Mensorum, Gubernatorum, Geminorum); 7 that spell a real place or stand one letter, one ending or a plural away from one (Lutrarum; Pistorum and Piscatorum, for the Forum Pistorium and the forum piscatorium of Rome; Castorum, for Locus Castorum; Delphinorum, for Portus Delphini; Taurorum, for Aquae Tauri and Augusta Taurinorum; Fabarum, for Castrum Fabae); and 4 that hold a rude English word (Fagorum, Spicarum, Salicum, Fornacum). Nobody who teaches Latin has read this list. Licence: own selection; forms and meanings from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Stands: all 26 sites

A 8

a day's march from the frontier wall
among wheat fields laid out in squares
at a crossing of two paved highways
at a milestone where the road forks
at the edge of its province
at the edge of pine woods cut for ship timber
at the end of a road the legions built
at the first rest stop out of the capital

Show all 26 sites (18 more)

B 3

beside a row of lime kilns
beside an aqueduct on tall arches
beside standing stones older than Rome

H 1

halfway along the grain road

I 3

in a clearing of chestnut trees
in a district of olive presses
in a valley of walled orchards

J 1

just inside the customs gate

N 1

near pits where millstones are cut

O 6

on an avenue of cypresses
on land granted to retired soldiers
on the amber road
on the old border between two tribes
on the road the salt carts take
on winter pasture for mountain flocks

T 1

three days by oxcart from the provincial capital

W 2

where the tin traders rest their mules
within sight of a watchtower

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 26 sites, written on 2026-10-03 to read after "a Roman town that stands". No line names a real place. Licence: own work

Built round: all 26 things

A 26

a bakery with nine ovens
a basilica where the courts sit
a bath house
a column that every road is measured from
a forum paved with gray stone
a fountain where four streets meet
a legion's granary
a library given by a rich citizen

Show all 26 things (18 more)

A, continued

a main street lined with columns
a market hall with a tiled roof
a mint that stamps bronze coins
a mosaic floor of sea creatures
a public garden with a fish pond
a stable where the couriers swap horses
a stadium for foot races
a street of glassblowers
a street of potters' kilns
a sundial taller than a man
a temple with six columns
a theater of stone seats
a tile works that stamps the town's name on every tile
a walled drill ground
a water tower at the end of the aqueduct
a wool market
a yard where wagon trains rest
an arch with three openings

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 26 things a Roman town had, written on 2026-10-03 to read after the words "built round". No line names a real place or person. Licence: own work