Name Generator Central

Desert Name Generator

Sand seas, salt flats, and wastes for your world map

Places & Geography500 curated namesUpdated Free · no sign-up

Tap a name to copy it500 names in this generator

Generate names for deserts, dune seas, salt flats, and badlands in the styles real deserts are named: Arabic and Berber ergs and hamadas, Central Asian kums and gobis, English descriptive names like the Great Sandy Desert, and mythic titles for fantasy wastelands.

About desert names

Real deserts are named with a small, precise vocabulary. In the Sahara and Arabia, erg is a sea of dunes, hamada a rocky plateau, reg or serir a gravel plain, and nafud or rimal simply sand; the Rub' al-Khali is the "Empty Quarter". Central Asian deserts use kum (sand) and gobi (waterless place), so Karakum means "black sand" and Kyzylkum "red sand". Persian dasht means plain, as in Dasht-e Kavir (the salt plain) and Dasht-e Lut (the plain of emptiness). English speakers named their deserts descriptively (Great Sandy Desert, Painted Desert, Skeleton Coast) or after explorers (Gibson, Simpson, Sturt).

The generator draws on all of these. You will find invented ergs and hamadas (Erg Tarshun, Hamada Kesh), colour deserts in the Arabic tradition (Sahra al-Bayda, the White Desert), salt flats and playas (the Mirror Flats, the Bonneville Flats), and single-word desert names such as Sarkesh and Zerzur that can double as the name of the region or the people who cross it. Mythic and ominous titles (the Grave of Caravans, the Land the Sun Forgot) are here for fantasy and post-apocalyptic wastelands.

A good desert name usually names the ground itself: sand, salt, glass, ash, stone. It can also name what the desert does to people. The Long Thirst and the Widowmaker are as authentic in spirit as any Erg.

Tips for choosing a name

  • Choose the terrain first: erg or dune sea for sand, hamada or barrens for rock, flats or playa for salt, and use the matching word in the name.
  • Pair a formal geographic name with a folk name, e.g. the Erg of Sabaresh, called the Grave of Caravans by the people who live on its edge.
  • Colour names (Red, White, Black) usually describe the sand or rock and are among the most common real desert names; use them for realism.
  • Single-word desert names like Ossir or Kesh let you refer to the whole region and its culture in one word, useful for maps and dialogue.
  • Save the ominous mythic titles for the deepest, most dangerous stretch; a whole map of Cursed Sands loses its effect.

Frequently asked questions

What do words like erg, hamada, and dasht mean?

Erg is Arabic for a sand sea of dunes; hamada is a bare rocky plateau; reg or serir is a gravel plain; nafud is sandy desert in Arabia. Kum is Turkic for sand, gobi is Mongolian for a waterless place, and dasht is Persian for plain or desert.

Are the deserts in this list real?

Some are: the Ténéré, Tanezrouft, Karakum, Dasht-e Lut, Nullarbor, Namib, and Danakil are real. Others like Erg Tarshun, the Glass Barrens, and Zerzur are invented but built on real naming patterns. Both kinds are free to use in fiction.

How do I name a desert in my fantasy world?

Combine a terrain word with a proper name or colour: Erg + Tarshun, Red + Waste, Salt Pan + of Ossir. Then give it a nickname that reflects how the locals feel about it, such as the Long Thirst. Avoid stacking generic words like Scorching Sand Wastes, which no real culture would say.

What is the difference between a desert, a wasteland, and badlands?

A desert is defined by low rainfall and can be sandy, rocky, or even icy. A wasteland is any barren, uninhabitable land, natural or ruined. Badlands are dry terrain heavily eroded into gullies and ridges. In fiction the terms overlap, but naming a place the Barrens or the Badlands suggests rock and erosion rather than dunes.

All 500 desert names

Browse the full list
  • Erg Tarshun
  • Erg Chebbi Minor
  • Erg of the Nine Winds
  • The Great Erg of Sabaresh
  • Hamada al-Hajar
  • Hamada Kesh
  • Reg Ouarzam
  • Serir al-Qamar
  • Tanezrouft Sar
  • Ténéré Wastes
  • The Tanezrouft
  • The Ténéré
  • Rub' al-Rimal
  • The Empty Quarter
  • The Nafud Nasira
  • Dahna Sands
  • Wadi Sirhan
  • Sahra al-Bayda
  • Sahra al-Hamra
  • Sahra al-Sawda
  • The White Desert
  • The Black Desert
  • The Red Desert
  • The Blue Desert
  • The Painted Desert
  • The Grey Wastes
  • The Great Sand Sea
  • The Little Sand Sea
  • The Sea of Glass
  • The Sea of Salt
  • The Sea of Bones
  • The Sea of Dust
  • The Singing Sands
  • The Whispering Dunes
  • The Drumming Sands
  • The Sleeping Sands
  • The Shifting Sea
  • The Restless Erg
  • Karakum Kesh
  • Kyzylkum Vale
  • Muyunkum
  • Aralkum
  • Taklamakan of the West
  • The Gobi Reaches
  • Alashan Sands
  • Ordos Waste
  • Badain Jaran
  • Tengger Flats
  • Dasht-e Kavir
  • Dasht-e Lut
  • Dasht-e Margo
  • Dasht-e Naomid
  • Registan Sands
  • Thar Kesh
  • The Great Rann
  • The Little Rann
  • Cholistan Reach
  • The Great Sandy Waste
  • The Great Victoria Sands
  • The Gibson Plain
  • The Simpson Erg
  • The Tanami
  • The Nullarbor
  • The Pilbara Waste
  • The Strzelecki
  • The Sturt Stony Desert
  • The Namib Coast
  • The Skeleton Coast
  • The Kalahari Fringe
  • The Karoo
  • The Danakil
  • The Chalbi
  • The Ogaden Waste
  • The Atacama Fringe
  • The Sechura
  • The Monte
  • The Patagonian Waste
  • The Sonoran Fringe
  • The Mojave Basin
  • The Chihuahuan Reach
  • The Great Basin Waste
  • The Black Rock Playa
  • The Bonneville Flats
  • The Alvord
  • The Owyhee Waste
  • The Red Waste
  • The Bone Waste
  • The Ashen Waste
  • The Salt Waste
  • The Glass Barrens
  • The Iron Barrens
  • The Sun Barrens
  • The Cinder Barrens
  • The Bleached Barrens
  • The Howling Barrens
  • The Blistered Flats
  • The Cracked Flats
  • The Mirror Flats
  • The Salt Pan of Ossir
  • The Great Playa
  • The Dead Basin
  • The Sunken Basin
  • The Basin of Thirst
  • The Anvil
  • The Furnace
  • The Kiln
  • The Forge Plain
  • The Griddle
  • The Sunlands
  • The Scald
  • The Scorch
  • The Sear
  • The Bright Waste
  • The Blinding Waste
  • The Waste of Ur
  • The Waste of Kings
  • The Waste of Nine Kings
  • The Waste Beyond the Wall
  • The Wastes of Anhur
  • The Marrowsand
  • The Sundered Sands
  • The Weeping Sands
  • The Cursed Sands
  • The Sands of Ash
  • The Sands of Sorrow
  • The Sands of Time
  • The Sands of Kesh
  • The Sands of the Old Sea
  • The Dry Sea
  • The Vanished Sea
  • The Sea That Was
  • The Fallen Sea
  • The Salt Sea Bed
  • The Ancient Shore
  • The Long Thirst
  • The Long Dry
  • The Long Walk
  • The Widowmaker
  • The Grave of Caravans
  • The Land of Thirst
  • The Land of Fear
  • The Land of No Return
  • The Land of Bones
  • The Land of Glass
  • The Land the Sun Forgot
  • Sarkesh
  • Ashkar
  • Kharun
  • Zaraq
  • Idrun
  • Nashkul
  • Ossir
  • Tarshun
  • Vaskar
  • Amraq
  • Belhaz
  • Durrak
  • Ghazir
  • Hamzir
  • Ilkash
  • Jorum
  • Kesh
  • Marrak
  • Nur-Kadesh
  • Qorra
  • Ruhun
  • Sabaresh
  • Tazir
  • Ul-Kharon
  • Vashum
  • Yaddir
  • Zerzur
  • The Dune Sea of Marrak
  • The Dune Sea of Ossir
  • The Ash Sea of Kharun
  • The Barrens of Sabaresh
  • The Wastes of Zerzur
  • The Reach of Vashum
  • The Flats of Tazir
  • The Steppe of Idrun
  • The Sandmarch
  • The Saltmarch
  • The Sunmarch
  • The Southern Dry
  • The Eastern Waste
  • The Western Erg
  • The Northern Sands
  • Erg Iguidi Minor
  • Erg Chech
  • Erg Admer
  • Erg Murzuq
  • Erg Ubari
  • Erg Rebiana
  • Erg of the Seven Sisters
  • Erg of the Silent Wind
  • Erg Qadesh
  • Erg Nahrim
  • Erg Zumair
  • Erg of Bones
  • The Great Erg of Tazir
  • The Lesser Erg of Kesh
  • The Erg Beyond Ossir
  • Hamada du Draa
  • Hamada Marzuq
  • Hamada al-Bayda
  • Hamada of the Old Kings
  • Hamada Sarr
  • Reg Tanezrouft
  • Reg Ashkar
  • Reg of the Cairns
  • Reg al-Sawda
  • Serir Tibesti
  • Serir Kalanshiyu
  • Serir of the Wind
  • Serir Nur
  • Nafud al-Sirr
  • Nafud Kesh
  • Nafud al-Mazhur
  • The Great Nafud
  • The Little Nafud
  • Rimal Zahra
  • Rimal Nasir
  • Rub' al-Sukut
  • Rub' al-Nujum
  • The Silent Quarter
  • The Burning Quarter
  • The Forgotten Quarter
  • Sahra al-Zarqa
  • Sahra al-Safra
  • Sahra al-Khadra
  • Sahra al-Rih
  • Sahra al-Nujum
  • Sahra al-Milh
  • Sahra al-Jinn
  • The Yellow Desert
  • The Golden Desert
  • The Rust Desert
  • The Ochre Desert
  • The Great Salt Sea
  • The Sea of Ash
  • The Sea of Thorns
  • The Sea of Mirrors
  • The Sea of Sighs
  • The Sea Without Water
  • The Booming Dunes
  • The Humming Dunes
  • The Wailing Erg
  • The Silent Sands
  • The Walking Dunes
  • The Breathing Sands
  • The Hungry Sands
  • The Devouring Dunes
  • Karakum Rimal
  • Kyzylkum Sarr
  • Kara-Kesh
  • Ak-Kum
  • Sary-Kum
  • Kok-Kum
  • Kum-Tagh
  • Kumsara
  • Kizil-Sarr
  • The Sary Waste
  • Betpak-Dala
  • The Hungry Steppe
  • Ustyurt Waste
  • Mangyshlak Reach
  • Barsakelmes
  • Kavir-e Namak
  • Kavir Zerzur
  • Kavir Ashk
  • Dasht-e Rig
  • Dasht-e Namak
  • Dasht-e Kharun
  • Dasht-e Sukut
  • Dasht-e Khash
  • Dasht-e Bakwa
  • Registan Vashum
  • The Registan Reach
  • Rig-e Jenn
  • Rig-e Yalan
  • The Kalut Field
  • Thar Rimal
  • The Thar Fringe
  • Cholistan Sands
  • Rohi Waste
  • Marusthali
  • The Great Rann of Kesh
  • The Rann of Ossir
  • The Kutch Salt
  • The Alashan Reach
  • The Gobi Fringe
  • The Black Gobi
  • The Yellow Gobi
  • The Stone Gobi
  • The Great Gobi Waste
  • Gurbantünggüt Sands
  • Dzungarian Waste
  • Kumtag Sands
  • Hexi Sands
  • Ulan Buh Sands
  • Hobq Sands
  • Mu Us Sands
  • Hunshandake Sands
  • Taklamakan Reach
  • The Sea of Death
  • Lop Nur Salt
  • The Lop Waste
  • The Little Sandy Desert
  • The Tirari
  • The Pedirka
  • The Kalahari Sands
  • The Namib Sands
  • The Sossus Sands
  • The Sperrgebiet
  • The Great Karoo
  • The Little Karoo
  • The Nama Waste
  • The Richtersveld
  • The Afar Reach
  • The Chalbi Salt
  • The Nubian Sands
  • The Libyan Sands
  • The Western Sands
  • The Eastern Sands
  • The Bayuda Waste
  • The Sinai Waste
  • The Negev Reach
  • The Judaean Waste
  • The Syrian Waste
  • The Hamad
  • The Badiya
  • The Badiyat al-Sham
  • The Jordan Waste
  • The Wilderness of Zin
  • The Wilderness of Paran
  • The Wilderness of Shur
  • The Atacama Salt
  • The Salar of Ossir
  • The Great Salar
  • The White Salar
  • The Uyuni Flats
  • The Nazca Waste
  • The Sonoran Waste
  • The Yuma Sands
  • The Algodones Dunes
  • The Mojave Waste
  • The Chihuahuan Waste
  • The White Sands
  • The Great Basin Salt
  • The Black Rock Waste
  • The Red Rock Waste
  • The Colorado Waste
  • The San Rafael Waste
  • The Escalante Waste
  • The Vermilion Waste
  • The Bisti Badlands
  • The Badlands of Kesh
  • The Rusted Badlands
  • The Bleeding Badlands
  • The Bone Badlands
  • The Painted Badlands
  • The Salt Barrens
  • The Slag Barrens
  • The Thorn Barrens
  • The Screaming Barrens
  • The Shattered Barrens
  • The Barrens of Anhur
  • The Salt Flats of Nashkul
  • The Bone Flats
  • The White Flats
  • The Endless Flats
  • The Shimmer Flats
  • The Mirage Flats
  • The Playa of Kesh
  • The Great Salt Playa
  • The Dry Lake of Ossir
  • The Lake That Was
  • The Ghost Lake
  • The Salt Pan of Vashum
  • The Great Pan
  • The White Pan
  • The Basin of Kesh
  • The Basin of Ash
  • Erg Tifernine
  • Erg Issaouane
  • Erg Bourarhet
  • Erg Tihodaine
  • Grand Erg Amraq
  • Hamada de Tinrhert
  • Hamada al-Sarir
  • Hamada Kharun
  • Reg of Broken Pots
  • Reg Yaddir
  • Serir Belhaz
  • Wadi al-Ghazir
  • Wadi of the Nine Wells
  • Wadi Durrak
  • Sahra Nashkul
  • Rimal Ghazir
  • Nafud Amraq
  • Sabkhat Qorra
  • Sabkhat al-Milh
  • Chott Ruhun
  • Chott of the Mirages
  • Sebkha Tazir
  • Djebel Sands
  • Adrar Waste
  • Tassili of Idrun
  • The Ténéré of Ilkash
  • Bilma Sands
  • Djado Reach
  • Fezzan Waste
  • Bilad al-Rimal
  • Ard al-Atash
  • Ard al-Sukut
  • Bahr al-Rimal
  • Qattara Reach
  • The Farafra Waste
  • The Selima Sands
  • The Wadi Howar
  • The Gilf of Anhur
  • Kara-Tau Sands
  • Sary-Ishik
  • Moyunkum Ashkar
  • Kyzyl-Tash
  • Ak-Dala
  • Kum-Sarkesh
  • Tagh-e Nur
  • The Kizilkum of Idrun
  • Chul of Vashum
  • The Great Chul
  • Betpak of Zerzur
  • The Ustyurt Rim
  • Ala-Kum
  • The Turan Waste
  • Kavir Nur-Kadesh
  • Rig-e Amraq
  • The Kaluts of Vashum
  • The Lut Fringe
  • Dasht-e Yaddir
  • The Turpan Deep
  • The Hami Sands
  • The Kerulen Waste
  • The Gaxun Waste
  • The Junggar Reach
  • The Alxa Rim
  • The Sary-Arka
  • The Marwar Sands
  • Rohi of Ilkash
  • The Thal Waste
  • The Kharan Waste
  • The Chagai Sands
  • The Great Stony Desert
  • The Little Salt Waste
  • The Far Dry
  • The Bitter Flats
  • The Alkali Reach
  • The Devil's Griddle
  • The Sun's Anvil
  • The Coffin Sands
  • The Sea of Broken Ships
  • The Field of Skulls
  • The Thousand Dunes
  • The Hundred Salt Pans
  • The Nine Playas
  • The Wind's Larder
  • The Great Nothing
  • The Blank
  • The Emptiness of Ur
  • The Sunder Waste
  • The Cauldron
  • The Crucible
  • The Oven
  • The Skillet
  • The Salt of Kings
  • The Dust of Anhur
  • The Reach of No Shadows
  • The Waste of Ten Thousand Steps
  • The Land Without Wells
  • The Land of Salt Ghosts
  • The Long Glare
  • The Great Bake
  • The Silence of Marrak
  • The Mirror of Kesh
  • The Barrows of Sarkesh
  • The Salt Roads
  • The Caravan Graves
  • The Bones of the Old Sea
  • The Whitened Reach
  • Tashkuru
  • Zumair
  • Ashkharun
  • Nahrim
  • Sukut
  • Ghazira
  • Belquar
  • Tor-Amraq
  • The Dune Sea of Belhaz
  • The Ash Sea of Yaddir
  • The Reach of Nur-Kadesh

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