Plains Name Generator

Names for prairies, steppes, savannas and fantasy grasslands

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Generate plains names that sound like real geography: prairies, steppes, savannas, pampas, downs and moors from every continent, plus evocative fantasy grasslands like the Sunmarch and the Plain of Falling Stars for maps, novels and tabletop worlds.

About plains names

Every grassland culture has its own word for open flat country, and real plains names almost always carry one. English uses Plain, Prairie, Downs, Moor, Heath, Fen, Vale and Flats; Spanish America has Pampa, Llano and Campo; Portuguese Brazil has Campos and Cerrado; Southern Africa has Veld and -vlakte; Central Asia has Steppe, Dala and Tal; Hungary has Puszta; France has Plaine and Landes; Germany has Heide and Börde. The word in front is usually practical: a river (Snake River Plain), a grass (Bluestem Prairie, Spinifex Plain), a soil colour (Black Earth Plain), an animal (Antelope Prairie, Plain of the Aurochs) or a nearby town (Salisbury Plain, Canterbury Plains).

Older and literary names use the 'Plain of X' and 'Fields of X' shapes: Plain of Jars, Plain of Marathon, Plains of Abraham, Fields of Asphodel. Those feel ancient and mythic, which is why fantasy maps lean on them (Plain of Falling Stars, Fields of Ruin). Invented compounds like Sunmarch, Gallowmoor or Windshear Plain work because they copy the structure of real English place names: one hard noun plus a form-word.

For worldbuilding, vary the form-word across your map. A continent where every flat region is called 'the X Plains' reads as generated; one with a Veld, some Downs, a Steppe and one legendary Plain of Bones reads as lived in.

How to choose plains names

  • Pick the form-word by climate and grass height: Prairie and Pampa for tall temperate grass, Steppe for dry short grass, Savanna or Veld for tropical grass with scattered trees, Moor and Heath for wet upland scrub, Flats and Pan for bare dry ground.
  • Name plains after what is physically there or what crosses them, not after feelings: Bluestem Prairie, Three Rivers Plain and Drovers' Plain will always outlast Serenity Plains.
  • Reserve the grand 'Plain of X' and 'Fields of X' forms for one or two storied places per map; the everyday plains should be plain (Hay Plain, Clover Flats, the Westmarch).
  • Borrow the local word if your setting is modelled on a real region: Llanos for a Venezuelan-style savanna, Puszta for a Hungarian one, Veld for southern Africa, Dala for Kazakhstan.
  • Remember that plains are usually named by the people who cross them or farm them, so nomad cultures name by water and grazing (Long Rains Plain, Horse Prairie) while settlers name by survey and property (Section Line Prairie, Homestead Prairie).

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a plain, a prairie, a steppe and a savanna?

A plain is any broad flat area; the other three describe its vegetation and climate. Prairie is the North American tall or mixed grassland, steppe is the drier short grassland of Eurasia, and savanna is tropical grassland with scattered trees, as in East Africa. Pampas, llanos, veld, puszta and downs are regional words for the same kinds of country.

How do real plains get their names?

Most are named for a river, town or landmark (Snake River Plain, Salisbury Plain, Canterbury Plains), for the dominant grass or soil (Tallgrass Prairie, Black Earth Plain, Spinifex Plain), for animals (Antelope Prairie, Bugac Puszta's bustards) or for a historical event or person (Plains of Abraham, Palliser's Triangle). Many older names are simply the local word for plain, like Pampa, Llano or Karoo.

Which of these names work best for a fantasy map?

Compounds such as Windshear Plain, Gallowmoor, the Sunmarch and the Sea of Grass sit well beside invented towns, while the 'Plain of X' names (Plain of Bones, Plain of Falling Stars) suit legendary battle sites. Mix in a few plain real-world forms like Downs, Veld or Flats so the map does not feel uniformly epic.

Can I use these plains names in my own book, game or D&D campaign?

Yes. Geographic names are not copyrighted and the invented names here are free to use. If you reuse a famous real name such as the Serengeti or the Great Plains in a commercial product, be aware readers will bring its real associations with it.

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All 500 plains names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 12 names

  • Alentejo Plain
  • Alheden
  • Alluvial Plain of the Marn
  • Altiplano
  • Alvaret
  • Alvord Flats
  • Amboseli Plains
  • Antelope Prairie
  • Arctic Coastal Plain
  • Argive Plain
  • Ashcombe Levels
  • Athi Plains

B: 34 names

  • Banni Grassland
  • Barabinsk Steppe
  • Bărăgan Plain
  • Barkly Tableland
  • Barley Flats
  • Barotse Floodplain
  • Barren Grounds
  • Bashang Grassland
  • Betpak-Dala
  • Bison Run
  • Bitter Creek Prairie
  • Black Earth Plain
  • Black Kettle Grassland
  • Black Rock Flats
  • Black Soil Plains
  • Blackheath
  • Blackland Prairie
  • Blackmoor
  • Blizzard Plain
  • Bluestem Flats
  • Bluestem Prairie
  • Bodmin Moor
  • Bonneville Flats
  • Brackenmoor
  • Breckland
  • Brigalow Plain
  • Brightmead
  • Broken Plow Prairie
  • Buffalo Gap Grassland
  • Buffalo Grass Prairie
  • Bugac Puszta
  • Bugyal Meadows
  • Burnt Oak Prairie
  • Bushveld

C: 35 names

  • Cairnsward
  • Camargue Flats
  • Camas Flats
  • Camas Prairie
  • Campagna Romana
  • Campidano
  • Campo Alegre
  • Campo Grande
  • Campos de Cima da Serra
  • Campos Gerais
  • Cannock Chase
  • Canterbury Plains
  • Carrizo Plain
  • Carse of Gowrie
  • Cerrado
  • Chalbi Plain
  • Channel Country
  • Chao Phraya Plain
  • Chariot Plain
  • Cheshire Plain
  • Chinook Plain
  • Cimarron Grassland
  • Claypan Plain
  • Clover Flats
  • Coldheath
  • Comanche Grassland
  • Confluence Plain
  • Cottonwood Prairie
  • Cowslip Plain
  • Coyote Prairie
  • Cranborne Chase
  • Cranefield Plain
  • Crowfoot Prairie
  • Curlew Plain
  • Curragh Plain

D: 6 names

  • Danubian Plain
  • Doringvlakte
  • Drovers' Plain
  • Dry Lake Flats
  • Dust Devil Plain
  • Dzungarian Plain

E: 3 names

  • Eclipse Plain
  • Ellsmead Plain
  • Exmoor Plain

F: 18 names

  • Fallowmere Plain
  • Feathergrass Steppe
  • Fellheath
  • Fenland
  • Fescue Prairie
  • Fields of Asphodel
  • Fields of Elysium
  • Fields of Fire
  • Fields of Gold
  • Fields of Mourning
  • Fields of Ruin
  • Fields of Sorrow
  • Fields of the Fallen
  • Fields of the First Dawn
  • Finnmarksvidda
  • Flint Hills
  • Forks Plain
  • Foxfield Plain

G: 17 names

  • Gallowmoor
  • Gangetic Plain
  • Ghost Veld
  • Gibber Plain
  • Glacier Outwash Plain
  • Gobi Steppe
  • Golden Vale
  • Goldenheath
  • Goosefoot Prairie
  • Gorse Downs
  • Gran Chaco
  • Grand Prairie
  • Grande Prairie
  • Greasewood Flats
  • Great Hungarian Plain
  • Great Karoo
  • Grey Mare Flats

H: 21 names

  • Halfday Plain
  • Hardangervidda
  • Harmattan Plain
  • Harrier Plain
  • Harrowmead
  • Harvest Moon Plain
  • Harvest Plain
  • Hawkmoor
  • Hay Plain
  • Heat Haze Plain
  • Hetao Plain
  • High Plains
  • Highveld
  • Homestead Prairie
  • Hoofbeat Plain
  • Horse Prairie
  • Hortobágy
  • Howe of the Mearns
  • Hudson Bay Lowland
  • Hulunbuir Grassland
  • Hunter's Moon Plain

I: 3 names

  • Ilkley Moor
  • Ironstone Plain
  • Irrawaddy Plain

J: 3 names

  • Jackrabbit Flats
  • Jornada del Muerto
  • Jutland Heath

K: 14 names

  • Kafue Flats
  • Kalahari Veld
  • Kalmyk Steppe
  • Kanto Plain
  • Karoo Plain
  • Kazakh Steppe
  • Kaziranga Grassland
  • Kestrel Downs
  • Kingsmoor
  • Kiskunság
  • Konza Prairie
  • Kuban Steppe
  • Kulunda Steppe
  • Kwongan Plain

L: 34 names

  • La Beauce
  • La Brie
  • La Mancha Plain
  • Lakebed Plain
  • Landes de Gascogne
  • Laramie Plains
  • Larkfield Plain
  • Larksmead
  • Las Bardenas
  • Lezíria do Tejo
  • Lightning Flats
  • Liuwa Plain
  • Liverpool Plains
  • Llano del Cielo
  • Llano Estacado
  • Llano Grande
  • Llano Quemado
  • Llanos de Apure
  • Llanos de Moxos
  • Llanos del Orinoco
  • Llanos del Viento
  • Llanos Orientales
  • Llanura Chaqueña
  • Llanura de los Espejos
  • Llanura Pampeana
  • Loess Plain
  • Lone Oak Prairie
  • Lonetree Prairie
  • Long Rains Plain
  • Longhorn Plain
  • Los Monegros
  • Lost Creek Prairie
  • Lowveld
  • Lüneburg Heath

M: 27 names

  • Maasai Mara
  • Machair of Uist
  • Machaire Connacht
  • Mackenzie Basin
  • Magdeburger Börde
  • Magh Tuireadh
  • Makgadikgadi Pans
  • Mallee Plain
  • Maniototo Plain
  • Marchfeld
  • Maremma Plain
  • Mazovian Plain
  • Meadowlark Prairie
  • Medicine Creek Prairie
  • Menengiyn Tal
  • Mile-Wide Flat
  • Mirage Plain
  • Mitchell Grass Downs
  • Mitchell Plain
  • Monaro Plain
  • Mongolian Steppe
  • Monsoon Plain
  • Moraine Flats
  • Morning Star Plain
  • Mossmead
  • Mulga Plain
  • Mustang Plain

N: 8 names

  • Needlegrass Prairie
  • Ninety Mile Plain
  • Norddeutsche Tiefebene
  • North China Plain
  • North Downs
  • Northern Plains
  • Nullarbor Plain
  • Nxai Pan

O: 10 names

  • Ogaden Plain
  • Okavango Grasslands
  • Old Mill Prairie
  • Oldlake Plain
  • Ordos Plateau
  • Orkhon Valley Steppe
  • Osage Plains
  • Overland Plain
  • Oxbow Prairie
  • Oxmark

P: 90 names

  • Pale Horse Plain
  • Palliser's Triangle
  • Palouse Prairie
  • Pampa de las Salinas
  • Pampa del Infierno
  • Pampa del Tamarugal
  • Pampa Húmeda
  • Pampa Seca
  • Pannonian Plain
  • Patagonian Steppe
  • Pawnee Grassland
  • Peace River Prairie
  • Piana di Catania
  • Pianura Padana
  • Plain of a Thousand Hooves
  • Plain of Ashes
  • Plain of Barley
  • Plain of Bones
  • Plain of Broken Wheels
  • Plain of Cairns
  • Plain of Dreams
  • Plain of Echoes
  • Plain of Endless Summer
  • Plain of Falling Stars
  • Plain of Flint
  • Plain of Frost
  • Plain of Glass
  • Plain of Hollow Hills
  • Plain of Jars
  • Plain of Jezreel
  • Plain of Kildare
  • Plain of Lanterns
  • Plain of Lombardy
  • Plain of Marathon
  • Plain of Mirrors
  • Plain of Mist
  • Plain of Poppies
  • Plain of Red Earth
  • Plain of Reeds
  • Plain of Salt
  • Plain of Sharon
  • Plain of Six Glaciers
  • Plain of Standing Stones
  • Plain of Stars
  • Plain of Storms

P, continued

  • Plain of Tall Reeds
  • Plain of the Ancestors
  • Plain of the Aurochs
  • Plain of the Burnt Wagons
  • Plain of the Crane
  • Plain of the Fallen
  • Plain of the Giants
  • Plain of the Long Grass
  • Plain of the Moon
  • Plain of the Nine Wells
  • Plain of the Silent Herds
  • Plain of the Three Cairns
  • Plain of the Wild Horse
  • Plain of the Winds
  • Plain of the Winter Herds
  • Plain of Thorns
  • Plain of Thunder
  • Plain of Towers
  • Plain of Troy
  • Plain of Wildflowers
  • Plaine d'Alsace
  • Plaine de Beauce
  • Plaine de la Crau
  • Plaine des Maures
  • Plains of Abraham
  • Plains of Dust
  • Plains of Exile
  • Plains of Moab
  • Plains of Nazca
  • Plains of Plenty
  • Plains of Ruin
  • Plains of San Agustin
  • Plains of Silver Grass
  • Plains of Sorrow
  • Plains of the Horse Lords
  • Plains of the Lost Legion
  • Plains of the Restless Dead
  • Plains of Wind
  • Pohjanmaa Plain
  • Polesie Lowland
  • Pontic Steppe
  • Powder River Basin
  • Prairie Dog Flats
  • Puna
  • Puna de Atacama

Q: 1 name

  • Quailgrass Plain

R: 11 names

  • Rannoch Moor
  • Rattlesnake Flats
  • Ravenmoor
  • Ravensfield Plain
  • Red River Plain
  • Red Tussock Plain
  • Regina Plains
  • Riderfall Plain
  • Rietvlakte
  • Riverina Plain
  • Romney Marsh

S: 37 names

  • Saddleback Flats
  • Saddleworth Moor
  • Sagebrush Flats
  • Salisbury Plain
  • Saltbush Plain
  • Saltgrass Flats
  • Saltlick Flats
  • Saltpan Flats
  • Sand Hills
  • Sandhill Crane Plain
  • Sandplain
  • Saryarka
  • Scablands
  • Schoolhouse Prairie
  • Sedgemoor
  • Serengeti
  • Settlers' Plain
  • Seven Sisters Plain
  • Shepherds' Heath
  • Shola Grassland
  • Shortgrass Prairie
  • Sirocco Plain
  • Smoky Hills
  • Snake River Plain
  • Sodbuster Prairie
  • Solstice Plain
  • Somerset Levels
  • South Downs
  • Southern Plains
  • Spearmark
  • Spinifex Plain
  • Springbok Flats
  • Stagecoach Flats
  • Staked Plains
  • Stony Plain
  • Sudd Plain
  • Switchgrass Prairie

T: 92 names

  • Tallgrass Prairie
  • Tallgrass Sea
  • Tallow Flats
  • Tavoliere delle Puglie
  • Terai Plain
  • The Amber Reach
  • The Ashfield
  • The Asphodel Meadows
  • The Barrens of Ull
  • The Bitterfield
  • The Bonefield
  • The Bonemarch
  • The Broadlea
  • The Brown Heath
  • The Copper Veld
  • The Cursed Plain
  • The Dayride
  • The Downs
  • The Drovelands
  • The Drylands
  • The Dun Steppe
  • The Dunelands
  • The Dusklands
  • The Eastmarch
  • The Elysian Plain
  • The Fallow Marches
  • The Fens
  • The Flatlands
  • The Flats
  • The Galloping Grounds
  • The Grasswold
  • The Grazing
  • The Great Grazing
  • The Great Plains
  • The Great Sward
  • The Greening
  • The Haymeads
  • The Heathlands
  • The Herdlands
  • The Hollowlands
  • The Horse Reach
  • The Horsemark
  • The Howling Plain
  • The Hundred Mile Flat
  • The Hunting Grounds of Ashra
  • The Ironfield

T, continued

  • The Kingsmead
  • The Kingssward
  • The Lea
  • The Levels
  • The Long Meads
  • The Low Sward
  • The Lowlands of Varr
  • The Pampas
  • The Plainsmarch
  • The Red Veld
  • The Reedmarch
  • The Rushlands
  • The Sallow Veld
  • The Saltbarrens
  • The Sea of Grass
  • The Sere
  • The Shattered Plain
  • The Shieldfields
  • The Silent Plain
  • The Singing Plain
  • The Spearfields
  • The Stonebarrens
  • The Sunmarch
  • The Ten Thousand Acres
  • The Veldt of Kessar
  • The Westmarch
  • The Whispering Plain
  • The Whistling Barrens
  • The Wildmarch
  • The Wolds
  • The Wolds of Ashen
  • Thelon Plain
  • Thessalian Plain
  • Thistlefield Plain
  • Thornheath
  • Thornmoor
  • Thracian Plain
  • Three Rivers Plain
  • Thunderhead Prairie
  • Tierra de Campos
  • Tonle Sap Plain
  • Tularosa Basin
  • Tumbleweed Flats
  • Tussock Downs
  • Tussock Plain
  • Two Rivers Plain

U: 1 name

  • Ukrainian Steppe

V: 6 names

  • Vale of Adder
  • Vale of Evesham
  • Vale of Pickering
  • Vale of White Horse
  • Vale of York
  • Vojvodina Plain

W: 13 names

  • Wagon Plain
  • Wheatgrass Plain
  • Whistling Wind Plain
  • Widowmoor
  • Widowslea
  • Wild Fields
  • Wild Horse Plain
  • Willow Creek Prairie
  • Windbreak Prairie
  • Windhollow Plain
  • Windmere Flats
  • Windmill Prairie
  • Windshear Plain

X: 1 name

  • Xilingol Grassland

Y: 1 name

  • Yukon Flats

Z: 2 names

  • Zoige Marsh Plain
  • Zumwalt Prairie