New Zealand Town Name Generator
Real and invented towns from both islands
New Zealand town names, real and invented: Rotorua, Hokitika, Akaroa and Te Anau beside made-up places such as Port Ansell, Kettle Flat and Mount Calder. Built for fiction, maps and tabletop games.
About New Zealand town names
The map of New Zealand speaks two languages. Many towns keep names in te reo Māori, such as Rotorua, Whakatāne, Timaru and Hokitika, while others carry names British settlers brought with them: Dunedin takes its name from the Gaelic for Edinburgh, and New Plymouth and Brighton need no explaining. The gold rushes of the 1860s put Otago and West Coast towns such as Arrowtown, Naseby, Ross and Charleston on the map, and farming districts added plain names like Fairlie, Methven and Lumsden.
Most of this list is real: cities, towns, harbour and beach settlements, lake and alpine villages, railway localities and a few high-country stations, from Kaitaia in the far north to Bluff and Oban in the south. The rest is invented in the English pattern settlers used, a surname or a plain description joined to Port, Mount, Bay, Flat, Gully, Junction, Saddle or Station, as in Port Ansell, Kettle Flat and Mount Calder. Every Māori name here is the name of an existing place.
The page does not mark which names are real, so look a name up before you call it your own. Macrons appear only where that spelling is well established, as in Taupō, Whangārei and Kaikōura. Other names keep the plain form long used on maps, so check the New Zealand Gazetteer for the current spelling.
How to choose New Zealand town names
- Pick the island and the region first. Names such as Sluicebox Gully and Twelve Ounce Flat suit the goldfields of Otago and the West Coast, while Lark Downs and Wheatstack Plains read as Canterbury or Southland farm country.
- Keep a Māori place name whole and never shorten or respell it for effect. Take the current spelling, macrons included, from the New Zealand Gazetteer. If a story needs an invented town, choose one of the English-pattern names instead of coining something that only sounds Māori.
- Look every name up before you publish. The list mixes real and invented places without marking them, and a real town deserves to be described as it is.
- Mix name types on a map the way the real one does: a Māori name for the river town, a settler surname at the railway junction, and a plain description such as Musterers Saddle for the pass between them.
- For a tiny locality, name it after what stood there. Cream Stand Corner, Lime Kiln Siding, Saleyards and Splitters Mill all work that way.
Frequently asked questions
Are these real New Zealand towns?
Most are. The list holds real cities, towns and small localities from the North Island, the South Island, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands, mixed with invented names such as Port Ansell, Kettle Flat and Mount Calder. The page does not mark which is which, so check a map or the New Zealand Gazetteer when it matters.
Why do so many New Zealand towns have Māori names?
Te reo Māori is the language of the country's first people, and Māori named the land long before European settlement. Many of those names stayed on the map, and names such as Rotorua, Taupō, Whanganui and Ōtaki are in everyday use. A Māori name is in this list only where it belongs to an existing place.
How are the invented names built?
They follow the English pattern of settler place names: a surname or a plain description, plus a landform or the job the place did. Port Ansell, Kettle Flat and Mount Calder are typical, and the same pattern gives ports, saddles, gullies, sidings and sheep stations. None of the invented names is built from Māori words.
Do New Zealand place names use macrons?
Many Māori names do, because a macron marks a long vowel and changes how the name is said. This list writes one where that spelling is well established, as in Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Ōtaki and Te Kūiti, and leaves other names in the plain form long used on maps. Check the New Zealand Gazetteer for the current spelling before you publish.
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All 1,000 New Zealand town names
A: 37 names
- Acacia Bay
- Ahaura
- Ahipara
- Akaroa
- Akitio
- Albert Town
- Albury
- Alexandra
- Alford Forest
- Alfredton
- Allanton
- Amberley
- Anakiwa
- Apiti
- Arahura
- Aramoana
- Arapuni
- Aria
- Arrow Junction
- Arrowtown
- Arthur's Pass
- Arthurs Point
- Arundel
- Ashburton
- Ashhurst
- Assay Terrace
- Atarau
- Athenree
- Athol
- Atiamuri
- Auckland
- Avalanche Flat
- Awakeri
- Awakino
- Awanui
- Awatuna
- Awhitu
B: 52 names
- Bach Row Beach
- Bainham
- Balclutha
- Balfour
- Ballance
- Ballast Beach
- Ballast Pit Siding
- Bannockburn
- Barrhill
- Barrytown
- Bascombe Mill
- Bay View
- Baylys Beach
- Beachlands
- Bealey
- Beaumont
- Becks
- Bell Block
- Bell Hill
- Bellwether Downs
- Bendigo
- Benneydale
- Berlins
- Bideford
- Billycan Flat
- Birchfield
- Birdlings Flat
- Blackball
- Blackwater
- Blenheim
- Blue Clay Gully
- Bluff
- Bombay
- Bottle Creek
- Boundary Rider Pass
- Bowentown
- Braidfield
- Bridge Pa
- Brighton
- Brightwater
- Broad Bay
- Broadwood
- Browns
- Bruce Bay
- Brunner
- Bulls
- Bunnythorpe
- Burkes Pass
- Burnham
- Bush Felling Camp
- Bush Tram Clearing
- Bushmans Clearing
C: 59 names
- Cabbage Tree Corner
- Cable Bay
- Calder Junction
- Calico Township
- Cambrians
- Cambridge
- Camerons
- Candlelight Gully
- Canvastown
- Cape Foulwind
- Cardrona
- Carmody Junction
- Carters Beach
- Carterton
- Cartwheel Junction
- Cass
- Castle Hill
- Castlepoint
- Castlerock
- Cave
- Centre Bush
- Charleston
- Chaslands
- Chatto Creek
- Chertsey
- Cheviot
- Christchurch
- Clandeboye
- Clarence
- Clarks Junction
- Clevedon
- Clifden
- Clinton
- Clive
- Clyde
- Clydevale
- Coalgate
- Coalpit Junction
- Coaster Wharf
- Colac Bay
- Coldwater Burn
- Collingwood
- Colour Creek
- Colville
- Cooks Beach
- Coopers Beach
- Coroglen
- Coromandel
- Cosy Nook
- Cradle Flat
- Cray Pot Bay
- Cream Stand Corner
- Cromwell
- Cronadun
- Culverden
- Curio Bay
- Cust
- Cuthbert Ford
- Cutter Cove
D: 28 names
- Dacre
- Dairy Factory Corner
- Damper Flat
- Dannevirke
- Darfield
- Dargaville
- Days Bay
- Denniston
- Diamond Harbour
- Dillmanstown
- Dinghy Slip Bay
- Dipton
- Dobson
- Dog Tucker Flat
- Domett
- Dorrance Ford
- Doyleston
- Dray Road Saddle
- Dredge Creek
- Drovers Bridge
- Drummond
- Drury
- Duffer Creek
- Dunback
- Dunedin
- Dunsandel
- Duntroon
- Duvauchelle
E: 13 names
- Earnscleugh
- Eastbourne
- Edendale
- Edgecumbe
- Egmont Village
- Eketāhuna
- Elsthorpe
- Eltham
- Erewhon
- Erskine Vale
- Eskdale
- Ettrick
- Eureka
F: 24 names
- Fairfax
- Fairlie
- Farrier Siding
- Featherston
- Feilding
- Fencers Camp
- Fernhill
- Fernside
- Ferrymans Reach
- Five Rivers
- Flaxbush Siding
- Flounder Inlet
- Fordell
- Fortrose
- Fossickers Gully
- Four Chimneys
- Fox Glacier
- Foxton
- Foxton Beach
- Franz Josef
- Frasertown
- French Pass
- Frost Flat
- Fruitlands
G: 32 names
- Gabriels Gully
- Gangers Crossing
- Gannet Heads
- Garston
- Geddes Bush
- Gentle Annie
- Geraldine
- Gibbston
- Gimmerburn
- Gisborne
- Gladstone
- Glen Afton
- Glen Aitken
- Glen Massey
- Glen Penhale
- Glenavy
- Glencoe
- Glenorchy
- Glentanner
- Glentunnel
- Goldsborough
- Goose Bay
- Gordonton
- Gore
- Gore Bay
- Gorse Hedge Plains
- Governors Bay
- Granity
- Greta Valley
- Greymouth
- Greytown
- Gummies Bush
H: 52 names
- Haast
- Hahei
- Hakataramea
- Halcombe
- Haldane Peaks Station
- Halfmoon Bay
- Halfway House Junction
- Hamilton
- Hampden
- Hanmer Springs
- Hannahs Clearing
- Harihari
- Haruru
- Hastings
- Haumoana
- Havelock
- Havelock North
- Hawarden
- Hāwea Flat
- Hāwera
- Hector
- Heddon Bush
- Hedgehope
- Helensville
- Henley
- Hennessy Ford
- Herbert
- Herbertville
- Herekino
- Heriot
- Hicks Bay
- Hikuai
- Hikurangi
- Himatangi Beach
- Hindon
- Hinds
- Hobnail Saddle
- Hogget Saddle
- Hokitika
- Horeke
- Horopito
- Hororata
- Horotiu
- Hot Water Beach
- Houhora
- Huapai
- Huia
- Hukerenui
- Hunterville
- Huntly
- Hunua
- Hyde
I: 7 names
- Ikamatua
- Imrie Downs
- Inangahua Junction
- Inchbonnie
- Inglewood
- Invercargill
- Isla Bank
J: 3 names
- Jackson Bay
- Jacksons
- Jerusalem
K: 51 names
- Kaeo
- Kai Iwi
- Kaiapoi
- Kaiaua
- Kaikohe
- Kaikōura
- Kaingaroa
- Kaitaia
- Kaitangata
- Kaiteriteri
- Kaitoke
- Kaiwaka
- Kaka Point
- Kakahi
- Kakanui
- Kaniere
- Kaponga
- Karamea
- Karangahake
- Karapiro
- Karekare
- Karitane
- Katikati
- Kaukapakapa
- Kawakawa
- Kawakawa Bay
- Kawerau
- Kāwhia
- Kekerengu
- Kelso
- Kerikeri
- Kettle Flat
- Kihikihi
- Kimbell
- Kimbolton
- Kingston
- Kinleith
- Kinloch
- Kirwee
- Kohukohu
- Kokatahi
- Kokonga
- Kopu
- Koriniti
- Koromiko
- Kuaotunu
- Kumara
- Kumara Junction
- Kumeū
- Kurow
- Kyeburn
L: 49 names
- Lake Abernethy
- Lake Coleridge
- Lake Ferry
- Lake Hāwea
- Lake Hayes
- Lake Marriott
- Lake Moeraki
- Lake Okareka
- Lake Paringa
- Lake Purvis
- Lake Rotoma
- Lake Tekapo
- Lakeside
- Lamont Downs
- Lamont Mill
- Lamp Rock Point
- Langs Beach
- Lantern Gully
- Lark Downs
- Lauder
- Lawrence
- Le Bons Bay
- Leading Light Point
- Leeston
- Leigh
- Leithfield
- Lepperton
- Levin
- Lichfield
- Lime Kiln Siding
- Limehills
- Limeworks Junction
- Lincoln
- Linkwater
- Linton
- Little River
- Little Wanganui
- Loburn
- Lochiel
- Long Spur Station
- Long Tom Flat
- Longburn
- Longline Cove
- Lovells Flat
- Lowburn
- Lower Hutt
- Luggate
- Lumsden
- Lyttelton
M: 103 names
- Macandrew Bay
- Macetown
- Macraes Flat
- Macrocarpa Corner
- Maheno
- Māhia
- Mailboat Harbour
- Makara
- Makarewa
- Makarora
- Maketū
- Makikihi
- Makorori
- Mamaku
- Manaia
- Manakau
- Manapōuri
- Mandeville
- Mangakino
- Mangamahu
- Mangatainoka
- Mangaweka
- Mangawhai
- Mangawhai Heads
- Mangonui
- Manunui
- Manutuke
- Māpua
- Maraekakaho
- Maraetai
- Marahau
- Maramarua
- Marokopa
- Marsden Point
- Martinborough
- Marton
- Maruia
- Masterton
- Matakana
- Matakohe
- Matamata
- Matangi
- Matapouri
- Matarangi
- Matatā
- Mataura
- Matauri Bay
- Matawai
- Maungatapere
- Maungaturoto
- Mauriceville
M, continued
- Mawheraiti
- Mayfield
- Meikle Junction
- Menzies Vale
- Mercer
- Meremere
- Merino Spur
- Mesopotamia
- Methven
- Middlemarch
- Midhirst
- Milford Sound
- Millers Flat
- Millerton
- Milton
- Minginui
- Miranda
- Mitchells
- Mitimiti
- Moa Flat
- Moana
- Moawhango
- Moeraki
- Moerewa
- Mōkau
- Mokihinui
- Molesworth
- Monowai
- Moraine Village
- Morrinsville
- Morven
- Mosgiel
- Mossburn
- Motueka
- Motunau
- Motuoapa
- Mount Calder
- Mount Cook Village
- Mount Farrant
- Mount Gribble
- Mount Hallam
- Mount Laidlaw
- Mount Lyford
- Mount Maunganui
- Mount Nairn
- Mount Pettigrew
- Mount Somers
- Mount Thirlwall
- Murchison
- Muriwai
- Murupara
- Musterers Saddle
N: 25 names
- Nairnfield
- Napier
- Naseby
- National Park
- Neils Beach
- Nelson
- Nelson Creek
- Net Shed Landing
- New Plymouth
- Ngaere
- Ngahere
- Ngakawau
- Ngāruawāhia
- Ngatea
- Ngatimoti
- Ngawi
- Ngongotaha
- Ngunguru
- Niagara
- Nightcaps
- Normanby
- Norsewood
- Notown
- Nugget Terrace
- Nuhaka
O: 65 names
- Ōakura
- Oamaru
- Oaro
- Oban
- Ocean Beach
- Ogilvie Downs Station
- Ohaeawai
- Ohai
- Ohakea
- Ōhakune
- Ohau
- Ōhaupō
- Ohinewai
- Ohingaiti
- Ohoka
- Ōhope
- Ōhura
- Oilskin Beach
- Okaihau
- Okains Bay
- Ōkārito
- Ōkato
- Okere Falls
- Okiwi Bay
- Okoroire
- Okuru
- Old Man Diggings
- Omaha
- Omaio
- Omakau
- Omapere
- Omarama
O, continued
- Ōmokoroa
- One Tree Point
- Onekaka
- Oneroa
- Onetangi
- Ongaonga
- Ongarue
- Ophir
- Opiki
- Ōpononi
- Ōpōtiki
- Opoutere
- Opua
- Ōpunake
- Orari
- Orepuki
- Orere Point
- Orewa
- Ormond
- Ormondville
- Ōtaki
- Ōtāne
- Otautau
- Otematata
- Otira
- Ōtorohanga
- Oturehua
- Outram
- Owaka
- Owen River
- Owenga
- Ōwhango
- Oxford
P: 94 names
- Packhorse Saddle
- Paekākāriki
- Paengaroa
- Paeroa
- Pahia
- Pahiatua
- Paihia
- Pakawau
- Palmerston
- Palmerston North
- Panguru
- Pannikin Flat
- Papakura
- Pāpāmoa
- Papatowai
- Paradise
- Parakai
- Paraparaumu
- Pareora
- Parnassus
- Paroa
- Parua Bay
- Pascoe Downs
- Pataua
- Pātea
- Patearoa
- Patumahoe
- Patutahi
- Pauanui
- Pauatahanui
- Pay Dirt Creek
- Peel Forest
- Pegasus
- Peka Peka
- Petone
- Pettigrew Crossing
- Pick and Shovel Gully
- Picton
- Pigeon Bay
- Piha
- Pilot Heads
- Piopio
- Pipiriki
- Pirinoa
- Pirongia
- Pisa Moorings
- Pit Saw Clearing
P, continued
- Platelayers Halt
- Pleasant Point
- Plimmerton
- Ploughshare Flat
- Pohangina
- Pohara
- Pōkeno
- Pongaroa
- Poplar Row
- Pōrangahau
- Porirua
- Port Albert
- Port Ansell
- Port Chalmers
- Port Charles
- Port Craig
- Port Dalziel
- Port Finlay
- Port Fitzroy
- Port Jackson
- Port Kirkness
- Port Levy
- Port Lidgard
- Port Molyneux
- Port Selwood
- Port Tolhurst
- Port Underwood
- Port Waikato
- Port Wickens
- Portage
- Portobello
- Pounawea
- Prebbleton
- Prospect Reef
- Puhoi
- Pukehina
- Pukekohe
- Pukekura
- Pukemiro
- Pukenui
- Pukerangi
- Pukerau
- Pukerua Bay
- Punakaiki
- Puponga
- Purakaunui
- Putāruru
Q: 4 names
- Quartz Reef Gully
- Queensberry
- Queenstown
- Quinlan Bridge
R: 52 names
- Rabbiter Flat
- Raes Junction
- Raetihi
- Raglan
- Rai Valley
- Railmotor Halt
- Rakaia
- Rakaia Huts
- Ramarama
- Ranana
- Ranfurly
- Rangataua
- Rangiora
- Rangiriri
- Rangitata
- Rangiwahia
- Rapahoe
- Rarangi
- Rātana
- Raukokore
- Raurimu
- Rawene
- Reefton
- Rennie Station
- Renwick
- Reporoa
- Richmond
- Riffle Gully
- Rimrock Saddle
- Riverhead
- Riversdale
- Riversdale Beach
- Riverton
- Riwaka
- Rockville
- Rolleston
- Romahapa
- Rongotea
- Ross
- Rotherham
- Rotoiti
- Rotorua
- Rotowaro
- Round Hill
- Roxburgh
- Ruakaka
- Ruatahuna
- Ruatapu
- Ruawai
- Runanga
- Russell
- Ryal Bush
S: 56 names
- Saleyards
- Sanson
- Sawdust Clearing
- Sawmill Junction
- Sawyers Bay
- Scargill
- Schist Peak
- Seacliff
- Seddon
- Seddonville
- Sefton
- Seven Stumps
- Shag Point
- Shannon
- Shanty Gully
- Sheffield
- Signal Staff Point
- Silverdale
- Sinclair Downs
- Skippers
- Skylark Plains
- Slab Hut Camp
- Slope Point
- Sluicebox Gully
- Smithy Corner
- Snells Beach
- Snowgrass Saddle
- Snowpole Pass
- Snowy Wether Station
- Sou'wester Beach
- Southbridge
- Spaniard Pass
- Splitters Mill
- Spring Creek
- Springfield
- Springs Junction
- St Andrews
- St Arnaud
- St Bathans
- Stafford
- Stamper Terrace
- Staveley
- Steam Hauler Bush
- Stillwater
- Stirling
- Stock Race Crossing
- Storehouse Bay
- Stormy Ridge Station
- Stratford
- Strath Ramsay
- Summit Junction
- Surfacemans Crossing
- Surfboat Cove
- Sutton
- Swag Flat
- Swingbridge
T: 92 names
- Tablet Siding
- Tahakopa
- Tai Tapu
- Taieri Mouth
- Taihape
- Tailrace Gully
- Taipa
- Tairua
- Takaka
- Takamatua
- Takapau
- Tamahere
- Tāneatua
- Tangimoana
- Tangiwai
- Tapanui
- Tapawera
- Tapu
- Tarn Saddle
- Tarras
- Tasman
- Tata Beach
- Tauherenikau
- Taumarunui
- Taupiri
- Taupō
- Tauranga
- Taylorville
- Te Anau
- Te Araroa
- Te Aroha
- Te Awamutu
- Te Awanga
- Te Hapua
- Te Horo
- Te Kaha
- Te Kao
- Te Karaka
- Te Kauwhata
- Te Kopuru
- Te Kowhai
- Te Kūiti
- Te Pohue
- Te Puia Springs
- Te Puke
- Te Puna
T, continued
- Te Puru
- Te Teko
- Temuka
- Thames
- The Forks
- Thornbury
- Thornton
- Tikitiki
- Tikokino
- Timaru
- Timber Jack Camp
- Tin Shed Corner
- Tinopai
- Tinsmith Gully
- Tinui
- Tīrau
- Tokaanu
- Tokanui
- Tokerau Beach
- Tokomaru
- Tokomaru Bay
- Tokoroa
- Tolaga Bay
- Tolhurst Bridge
- Tongaporutu
- Top Hut Station
- Totara Flat
- Totara North
- Towai
- Tramway Bush
- Trevethan Hill
- Tryphena
- Tryworks Bay
- Tuahiwi
- Tuai
- Tuakau
- Tuamarina
- Tuatapere
- Tulloch Junction
- Turakina
- Tūrangi
- Tussock Lake
- Tutira
- Tutukaka
- Twelve Ounce Flat
- Twizel
U: 5 names
- Upper Hutt
- Upper Moutere
- Upper Takaka
- Urenui
- Utiku
V: 1 name
- Viaduct Halt
W: 96 names
- Wages Hill
- Waharoa
- Waiau
- Waihau Bay
- Waihī
- Waihī Beach
- Waihola
- Waikaia
- Waikaka
- Waikanae
- Waikari
- Waikawa
- Waikouaiti
- Waikuku
- Waimamaku
- Waimana
- Waimangaroa
- Waimarama
- Waimate
- Waimate North
- Waimauku
- Wainui
- Wainui Beach
- Wainuiomata
- Waiouru
- Waipahi
- Waipara
- Waipawa
- Waipiata
- Waipu
- Waipu Cove
- Waipukurau
- Wairakei
- Wairau Valley
- Wairoa
- Waitahuna
- Waitangi
- Waitara
- Waitarere Beach
- Waitati
- Waitoa
- Waitomo Caves
- Waitotara
- Waiuku
- Waiuta
- Waiwera
- Wakefield
- Wallacetown