Expand your solar systems with this random planet name generator
Earth, Saturn, Uranus and Venus are just a selection of planets in our solar system, many named after gods in Roman mythology. But what do you do when your story travels beyond this solar system into uncharted territory? All of a sudden you encounter exoplanets, some in single-star systems, others in multiple-star systems. There's millions if not billions of them out there; how do you possibly come up with appealing names for all of them? Simple: you use this planet naming generator to help you out.
Made up names for planets to suit your universes
Maybe you're playing No Man's Sky, Spore or Warhammer 40k and are lacking inspiration for a cool planet name. Perhaps you're writing your next sci-fi adventure and need identifiers for a new group of exoplanets. Be it games or stories, this generator will provide thousands of ideas for you to use, all made up of a combination of a regular random planet name idea and a randomly generated identifier. Use whichever part you like and keep clicking that generator button to find the perfect match for you.
Astronomical planet naming conventions
Historically, our Sun and Moon, easy-to-see planets and a handful of stars received names. Without the proper equipment to explore the vastness of space, people simply didn't have the option to extend their knowledge from hundreds to the now more than a billion astronomical objects we know.
With so many objects to identify in outer space, it became necessary for astronomers to come up with a system to easily identify all of them, not only by name but by features and level of importance to researchers. This is where the International Astronomical Union (IAU) comes into play. They hold the authority to create and expand this designation system for planets, stars and any other kinds of celestial bodies.
For example, exoplanet naming conventions dictate that they should be identified by using the name of the star they orbit and then adding a lowercase letter. This is of course not very exciting, which is why the IAU launched a program in 2014 to gather input from the worldwide community, letting people from all over submit and vote on new proper names for exoplanets. A small selection of names that were chosen:
- Amateru
- Brahe
- Dagon
- Hypatia
- Meztli
What's the best fit for your adventure? Will you go with a designation system or proper names for your planets?
10 random planet names to get you inspired
There's thousands of ideas in this tool. Here are some samples to start:
Examples of planet names| Idea #1 | Vao SB0 |
| Idea #2 | Gnagua P38 |
| Idea #3 | Nippe HN5 |
| Idea #4 | Myria RGE8 |
| Idea #5 | Thoth 6U1 |
| Idea #6 | Struna UIC |
| Idea #7 | Chars JJ |
| Idea #8 | Briri WJ4 |
| Idea #9 | Coth 2G |
| Idea #10 | Llyke JJ |
More on planet names across the web
Can't get enough of generating planet names? Then continue exploring:
