# Fake country names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476 "2018-06-05T17:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/21 "2018-06-05T21:10:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You’re not going to find country names “like Canada” or “like Israel”, because you’re trying to extrapolate from one data point. The way these things work is, you start with some set of real names, and look at what they have in common. Thus, for instance, if you want a fake central Asian country, you can note that most countries in that part of the world end in -stan, and that a lot of them have a K somewhere before that, and so on, and end up with something like “Hakisakistan”. But if your starting set of countries is just {Canada}, then you find that all of the names are six letters long, and all of them end in “nada”, and all of them start with “Ca”, and you end up with your new name being “Canada”. > > On the other hand, you _can_ come up with new states, or provinces, or the like, because there are a number of those to work from. Hence, for example, the Simpsons’ home state of North Tacoma. Now fake states are an interesting idea. I’ve only heard of one example of a fictional US state that wasn’t a future sci fi thing: James Michener’s Space has a fictional state of Fremont. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/22 "2018-06-05T21:18:29Z")
I wonder if the people of Latvia get tired of being asked about Dr. Doom. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/23 "2018-06-05T21:20:10Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > The ø sounds more or less (not exactly) like a German ö, if that helps. 🙂 Yeah, English speakers who know enough to be dangerous can make an attempt with “ur” which isn’t exact, but better than “oh.” > [@naita](#): > > No. [speak very slowly]Å-ø-g-a[/speak] > > Foreigners! [It’s a matter of size.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f488uJAQgmw) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/24 "2018-06-05T21:22:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Now fake states are an interesting idea. I’ve only heard of one example of a fictional US state that wasn’t a future sci fi thing: James Michener’s Space has a fictional state of Fremont. That is a good reference point, using the name of a historical person. If I were going to come up with a fake Canada, I might use explorer names, or First Nation names, as those are both common place name origins in that area. Explorers: [ul] [li]Cabot[/li][li]Champlain[/li][/ul] First Nation names: [ul] [li]Oneida[/li][li]Onandaga[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/25 "2018-06-05T21:25:52Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > But what if they wanted to do a random Jewish country and didn’t want to use Israel? What would be a good made up name for a Jewish country? Judah. Actually used to exist! (alongside the Kingdom of Israel): > **[Kingdom of Judah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Judah)** > > The Kingdom of Judah\[a\] was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands of Judea, the landlocked kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. Jews are named after Judah, and primarily descend from people who lived in the region. > The Hebrew Bible depicts the Kingdom of Judah as a successor to the United Kingdom of Israel, a term denoting the united monarchy under biblical kings Saul, David, and Solomon and covering the territory of Judah and Israel. However, dur... ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/26 "2018-06-05T21:45:47Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Now fake states are an interesting idea. I’ve only heard of one example of a fictional US state that wasn’t a future sci fi thing: James Michener’s Space has a fictional state of Fremont. The city of Duckburg lies in the state of Calisota: [Donald Duck universe - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck_universe#Calisota) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/27 "2018-06-05T21:48:20Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > [It’s a matter of size.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f488uJAQgmw) Yeah, the US is so huge that even our home grown comedians can’t help making tributes to parts of it: [Massachusetts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvUMV1N7eGM) (Minor NSFW warning in the middle of the song.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/28 "2018-06-05T21:58:36Z")
\*Genovia \*was the tiny European country in _The Princess Diaries_. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/29 "2018-06-05T22:06:36Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Now fake states are an interesting idea. I’ve only heard of one example of a fictional US state that wasn’t a future sci fi thing: James Michener’s Space has a fictional state of Fremont. I came here to mention that. I also remember an old episode of a TV show starring Ed Asner where a war was brewing in a fictional Middle Eastern country called Kular. (coo-LAR). I’m probably not the only person who got out a world atlas to find out if it was a real geographic area, in those pre-Internet days ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/30 "2018-06-05T22:09:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > \ How about a fake Scandinavian country? \ So you’ve never seen Frozen? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/31 "2018-06-05T22:10:54Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Judah. > > Actually used to exist! (alongside the Kingdom of Israel): > > [Kingdom of Judah - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Judah) As a good Jew, I did know that, plus under Roman rule it was called Judea. But in a fictional world you probably can’t use Judah because any educated reader would immediately make assumptions based on that. But I was reminded of Spaceballs attempt to lampoon a whole Jewish planet by calling it Druidia and referring to the inhabitants as “Druish” ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/32 "2018-06-05T22:22:45Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > So you’ve never seen Frozen? Although the country is based on Scandinavia, and the name close to the Norwegian city name Arendal, the suffix -delle makes for a completely non-Scandinavian name. It’s all English fairytale flavor. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/33 "2018-06-05T22:24:29Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > As a good Jew, I did know that, plus under Roman rule it was called Judea. But in a fictional world you probably can’t use Judah because any educated reader would immediately make assumptions based on that. You want it to be clearly a “random Jewish country” but in a way that doesn’t cause anyone to make assumptions? How is that going to work? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/34 "2018-06-05T22:49:46Z")
In Li’l Abner comics, Lower Slobbovia had a lot of Russian Jewish/Yiddish elements (e.g. the bagel was invented there). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/35 "2018-06-05T22:52:25Z")
How about Ruthenia? It has “Ruth” in it, it’s cryptically eastern European, and its history and precise location are subject to some dispute. About 25 years ago, a con man in Washington DC tried to pass himself off as a Ruthenian official. His phony letterhead featured a Star of David. This con man’s line was that after the Soviet Union broke up, he wound up with some of the financial and nuclear assets of Moldova, and anyway he wanted diplomatic recognition. He didn’t get it. Ruthenia was an enclave located on the Ukrainian/Slovakian/Polish border. The demonym is “Rusyn” and Steve Ditko’s family came from there. I’ve heard of another Ruthenia in Moldava (about 100 miles away), and that it was the nationality claimed by Jews in Moldava before the Holocaust, but I can’t find anything online about this. THere is also “Carpathian Ruthenia” in Austria. Also, “Chelm,” “Anatevka” and “Potrzbie.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/36 "2018-06-05T22:55:19Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Although the country is based on Scandinavia, and the name close to the Norwegian city name Arendal, the suffix -delle makes for a completely non-Scandinavian name. It’s all English fairytale flavor. Fanwanking: According to DisneyWiki, Frozen takes place in 1839. Norway was in union with Sweden then. And for the previous 21 years ruled by Jean Bernadotte. Maybe he Frenchified the kingdom in this reality. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/37 "2018-06-06T00:06:43Z")
Fictional Jewish nation: Gilboa, from the one-season television series Kings a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/38 "2018-06-06T00:11:21Z")
The anime Strike Witches takes place in an alternate timeline and thus countries have both different shapes and different names though still roughly analogous to modern countries as of 1940. The equivalents are USA - United States of Liberion Japan - Fuso Germany - Karlsland Great Britain - Britannia Northern Italy - Venezia Southern Italy - Romagna Finland - Suomus Austria - Ostmark Sweden/Norway - Baltland Canada - Farawayland (Literally just a pun based off Newfoundland) ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/39 "2018-06-06T01:01:32Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Yeah, English speakers who know enough to be dangerous can make an attempt with “ur” which isn’t exact, but better than “oh.” Unless they’re Scottish. Åúrrrrrrrrga. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/40 "2018-06-06T01:04:01Z")
Suomi, how I love ya how I love ya My dear old Suomi 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476.md?page=3)