How do you choose your Zoo name?
- Thread starter ctthomas
- Start date
Plant names are nice I think! I I'll probably name mine something like Dogwood Zoological Park/Dogwood Zoo since the dogwood tree is my state's national tree. Will be nice if there's dogwood trees in the game as well to place in the zoo.
Naming them after geographical locations(?) is nice too. Like after certain mountains, rivers, lakes, etc.
Naming them after geographical locations(?) is nice too. Like after certain mountains, rivers, lakes, etc.
For my franchise name I did a pun with my family name. For my first Sandbox I will do a combination of the family names of two of my book characters. The new word actually makes sense and fits the story of the zoo. This is what I would advise you for finding a name for your zoo. Think about the backgroundstory for your zoo. Or about whats make it special.
- Does it have heavy foliage? Something with garden would be cool.
- Do you specialize in conservation and releasing animals to the wild? Search for inspiring names of reservation.
- Where is your zoo located? In India? Find Hindi words that might fit your zoo.
- Do you specialize in apes? Let this show in your zoo name.
- Play with puns. Purrfect Paradise would be cool for a cat zoo, wouldn't it?
- Name your zoo after a city you like or imagine.
- Do you feel inspired by a special person? Do you know someone that made you love animals even more? There is notthing wrong with naming a zoo after your dead grandma. (E.g. Irma Johnson Memorial Zoo)
Just some ideas from me. Maybe they spark some ideas inside of you.
I had one zoo in the beta called Tropicana, with the concept of being colourful and featuring animals from a mixture of hot places, and another called One Point Three Zoo that was so named for the patch that killed Tropicana
For the full release I have a few names in mind, with my local county being the inspiration for one, the concept (in the case of a dystopian city based reverse-zoo) being the inspiration there, and a few special people inspiring others.
For the full release I have a few names in mind, with my local county being the inspiration for one, the concept (in the case of a dystopian city based reverse-zoo) being the inspiration there, and a few special people inspiring others.
I decided to go with a fantasy theme for my zoos names. My first zoo was named 'Avalon', and my second 'Fantastic Beasts'. I'm not sure I'll go with those exact names after release but I think I'll stick with the fantasy theme for decoration and habitat design.
I do love the more realistic names I saw during the beta though, from trading and the marketplace.
I do love the more realistic names I saw during the beta though, from trading and the marketplace.
I'm a mythology fan. So most of my names are references to mythological stories.
I play with my 6yo son. He chooses the animals, the names and so on. We've had the "Lion Tiger Zoo" (only had Lions), the Edward Zoo. I've been told i have to rebuild these exactly the same.
Jenna Marbles once said, to come up with a fun nickname, use a describing word, food, and animal, which lead to "sexy candy panda"
So I like to do similar and use something from nature "maple, oakland, grassland, meadows" etc, and smash them together :3
So I like to do similar and use something from nature "maple, oakland, grassland, meadows" etc, and smash them together :3
I named my zoo using an Asian word, seeing as how our zoos were located in Asia. I decided to go with the Mongolian word amitan, which means animal. So my zoo was Amitan Park, aka Animal Park. I'll probably keep this naming convention (based on continent) when the full game comes out.
I'm trying to learn (not very successfully!) Portuguese so for the beta I was playing around with simple Portuguese phrases. For full release I'm thinking I'll go with Just So Ltd as my franchise (after the just so stories) and then go with names from each story that are appropriate. E.g. a big cat sanctuary called 'the cats who walked by themself' or something. Still a work in progress!
I understand that you want to have a 'cool' name for your zoo, I really do. But don't make too much out of the name that you come up with. Don't over think it. Whether someone thinks the name you came up with is 'dumb' or not is irrelevant. It might actually be what makes your zoo's name unique and identifiable in comparison to others zoos or franchises that have the same or a similar name.
I always start by setting my zoos in a specific location and I try to choose a realistic but fictional name based on that place whether it’s Finland, Australia or Japan as examples.
In North America especially there are lots of zoos in parks so say your name is, for example Smith, you could call it Smith Park Zoo which sounds realistic and has a nice personal connection if based on your name. Lots of places have natural features in their names like Cedar Falls or Westlake or Pine Valley. Cedar Park Zoo, Pine Park Zoo etc. There are so many Springfields so that could be one to pick.
Look around where you live, is there a street name or a neighbourhood whose name you could use? Say you lived on Hillfield Road, you could have Hillfield Zoo, Hillfield Wildlife Park, Hillfield Park Zoo.
Or combine two names. My Japanese zoo is called Matsuda City Zoo. It sounds realistic, has a meaning - the characters stand for pine and field - and it’s actually a combination of Matsumoto City and Iida City which are both cities in Nagano in central Japan. Looking randomly at a map of Toronto I can see places called Rexdale and Smithfield. So you could have Smithdale Zoo or Rexfield Zoo and they sound realistic. Are there place names near where you live that could be combined like that?
You could name it after a family member you like or a friend or even a fictional character. Say you like Harry Potter, there’s already a Potter Park Zoo in real life but you could have Potter Falls Zoo, just as an example. Or Granger Park Zoo. You could also name a zoo after a town in a book or film like Avonlea or Cabot Cove.
There are lists of fictional place names online which could help. There are also fictional place name generators online.
I also sometimes look through an atlas or on google maps and find the name of a tiny village or a lake somewhere and just use that.
There are so many possibilities of names and ways to make it meaningful to you so please don’t be discouraged.
In North America especially there are lots of zoos in parks so say your name is, for example Smith, you could call it Smith Park Zoo which sounds realistic and has a nice personal connection if based on your name. Lots of places have natural features in their names like Cedar Falls or Westlake or Pine Valley. Cedar Park Zoo, Pine Park Zoo etc. There are so many Springfields so that could be one to pick.
Look around where you live, is there a street name or a neighbourhood whose name you could use? Say you lived on Hillfield Road, you could have Hillfield Zoo, Hillfield Wildlife Park, Hillfield Park Zoo.
Or combine two names. My Japanese zoo is called Matsuda City Zoo. It sounds realistic, has a meaning - the characters stand for pine and field - and it’s actually a combination of Matsumoto City and Iida City which are both cities in Nagano in central Japan. Looking randomly at a map of Toronto I can see places called Rexdale and Smithfield. So you could have Smithdale Zoo or Rexfield Zoo and they sound realistic. Are there place names near where you live that could be combined like that?
You could name it after a family member you like or a friend or even a fictional character. Say you like Harry Potter, there’s already a Potter Park Zoo in real life but you could have Potter Falls Zoo, just as an example. Or Granger Park Zoo. You could also name a zoo after a town in a book or film like Avonlea or Cabot Cove.
There are lists of fictional place names online which could help. There are also fictional place name generators online.
I also sometimes look through an atlas or on google maps and find the name of a tiny village or a lake somewhere and just use that.
There are so many possibilities of names and ways to make it meaningful to you so please don’t be discouraged.
