# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/61 "2018-06-06T19:42:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Aramia,” “Tel Ammon” and other stuff like that works for a Jewish country. Take a name that actually exists in Israel and mix it up a little. Tel Ammon sounds like it would be in Gondor (especially the second part) or Vvardenfell (the Tel). > [@terentii](#): > > There have also been attempts by the upper peninsula of Michigan to obtain statehood. It would be called Superior. Absolutely nothing against Michigan, but please please call the mitten “Inferior” in that case. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/62 "2018-06-06T19:52:01Z")
If not already used in _The Handmaid’s Tale_, “Gilead” would make a good name for a fictional Jewish nation. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/63 "2018-06-07T01:20:25Z")
**I Love Lucy** had a episode where Lucy posed as the “…Maharincess of Franistan…” I think **Get Smart** had a lot of fake country names. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/64 "2018-06-07T01:33:17Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Why? > > The idea is to look to the real name, see what sort of thing it is based on, then choose something similar - as people are doing with the names for US states. > > “Israel” is based on resurrecting the name of an actual Jewish nation from the past. So, why not resurrect another actual Jewish nation from the past? Because the main point of fake country names in movies and TV shows is to UNtie the show from real documented history, not to associate it more closely. If a writer/filmmaker wants a firm association with a real place, generally they just call it by the real name. For example, I don’t know Woody Allen’s work at all, but I can imagine that in some of his films he wants a firm association with the real literal New York, and just calls his fictional place “New York”. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/65 "2018-06-07T01:45:32Z")
How about [Elbonia](http://dilbert.wikia.com/wiki/Elbonia)? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/66 "2018-06-07T01:45:49Z")
On, “The Simpsons,” Spinal Tap stated they were big in Bulgaria and the “other …garia.” “Hungaria?” “Who’s benefited more from the death of communism than us?” “Maybe the people who live in communist countries.” “I bet you’re right.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/67 "2018-06-07T02:21:25Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I think **Get Smart** had a lot of fake country names. I seem to recall that the original **Mission: Impossible** TV show did too, though I can’t remember any of them. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/68 "2018-06-07T03:27:33Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Why did he do that? How is a fake state integral to the story? It was a weird book that combined real historical figures with fictional characters. Since the character who needed the fictional state ended up becoming a Senator, I guess Michener just didn’t want to have a fake Senator from a real state. or something. LBJ actually plays a role in the story, and he’s real. Space is a great read but I’ve never really figured out what Michener was going for. It’s a retelling of how our space program got started, but it’s also alt history. One could start a great thread just about that book. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/69 "2018-06-07T04:11:09Z")
Let’s not overlook the _Guardian’s_ 1977 masterpiece, [the island nation of San Serriffe.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Serriffe) ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/70 "2018-06-07T05:47:49Z")
The film \\> was set in “Ticala.” The scenario of the film was largely based on Colombia’s civil war and the kidnapping of foreign nationals or wealthy people. However, the map of Ticala was essentially a map of Ecuador, and scenes of the capital of Ticala were in Quito. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/71 "2018-06-07T05:57:41Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I seem to recall that the original **Mission: Impossible** TV show did too, though I can’t remember any of them. My favorite was the East European People’s Republic. On the old _ **Dynasty** _, they had the Kingdom of Moldavia. Nobody bothered to tell them that Moldavia (present-day Moldova) was one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/72 "2018-06-07T07:31:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > My favorite was the East European People’s Republic. > > On the old _ **Dynasty** _, they had the Kingdom of Moldavia. Nobody bothered to tell them that Moldavia (present-day Moldova) was one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. A big chunk of it is modern Romania, as well as some Ukraine. List is missing Mordavia, from Quest for Glory IV. Eastern European land of vampires, domovoi, and vorpal bunnies. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/73 "2018-06-07T09:15:46Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > If not already used in _The Handmaid’s Tale_, “Gilead” would make a good name for a fictional Jewish nation. That’s because there used to be an actual [region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilead)by that name, in what’s now western Jordan. ---
**Author:** ![Gretchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@Gretchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gretchion)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/74 "2018-06-07T12:44:20Z")
> [@naita](#): > > The city of Duckburg lies in the state of Calisota: [Donald Duck universe - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck_universe#Calisota) I know that’s from the comic and not the cartoon, but the cartoon series was fond of fake country names, such as Ronguay in S. America, Montedumas in western Europe, and Noway in Scandinavia. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/75 "2018-06-07T15:01:40Z")
> [@syncrolecyne](#): > > However, the map of Ticala was essentially a map of Ecuador, and scenes of the capital of Ticala were in Quito. I guess that place is much more famous and recognized now, with the recent dieting fad named after it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/76 "2018-06-07T15:44:24Z")
I’m not sure if Bigues-L’Hardâce, Y-Houx-Artout, L’Yves-M’y-Eut-L’Aulne and Gault-et-Ouais are place names or names of characters. Either way though, you can tell it would be a weird movie. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jrbor76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9e8a1a/32.png) [@jrbor76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrbor76)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/77 "2018-06-09T23:37:10Z")
> [@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. Also, there’s the state of San Andreas from the _Grand Theft Auto_ universe. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/78 "2018-06-10T01:10:14Z")
Don’t forget about the country of [Kapetapek](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bS6evb8BMI). I don’t know what kind of drugs the folks who made [Speed Racer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMGpyINxaE) were on, but I want some! There was some weird shit on that show. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/79 "2018-06-10T04:12:48Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I’ve never heard of a fake East Asian country either on TV or movies. That would be Siam. As in Anna and the King of Siam. Ok, Siam was also more or less an English version of the name of a real country, but to the irritation of the inhabitants, the country described in the book, stage musical, and film was /actually/ a fictional country in East Asia. Creating my own, I think: We flew out of Singapore into Tynan, and were met by the company rep, who took us to a bar… ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476/80 "2018-06-10T09:45:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > English speaking countries can be created by just appending “New” to a place in England. New Wales, there, we’ve created one. Now, you can’t be expecting to get away with that. Wales: not in England. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-country-names/815476.md?page=5)