Naming Your Interstellar Empire

Perhaps the most important aspect of a nation’s identity is its name. So why is it that there are so many examples in science-fiction of names that make no sense?

In Incoming, The Templin Institute discusses the theories and ideas found across alternate worlds.

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Includes footage from "The Lord Inquisitor" by Erasmus Brosdau.

Background music: “White Atlantis” by Sergey Cheremisinov. User under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Narration by M.A.R.C.

[TemplinInstitute]

Before anyone points it out, we are aware of the irony of using "Empire" in the name of the video when a large segment of the video is dedicated towards how you should never use the word "Empire". If you have been affected by this indefensible act of hypocrisy, then make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

[alphanoodle]

"A nation isn't called the federation of lakes"
Chad: "Let us be henceforth called chad, named after this lake, also known as chad, which means lake"

[nowhereman]

Imperium actually means "absolute power". So the Imperium of Man would be "The Absolute Power of Mankind", which is pretty badass.

[Goodmanperson]

There's a historical precedent for naming a galactic-spanning civilization after the planet Earth, in my opinion. The Roman Empire was, after all, named after the City-State of Rome.

[PsychShrew]

11:59

Lakes: “Chad” means “lake”
Mountains: “Haiti” means “mountainous land”

[Fingolfin_the_Warden]

"So you want to join the Alliance of Awakened Nations, huh? How woke are ya?"
"Pee is stored in the ba-"
"YOU'RE IN."

[aelbion]

M.A.R.C.: "If your nation is supposed to have a tyrannical central government, maybe don't call it a league".


Classical Athens: "Watch me".

[TemplinInstitute]

This video got a dislike before it had been up long enough for anyone to watch the whole thing. We're finally becoming a real YouTube channel. Thanks everybody!

[MapleLamia]

The Rebel Alliance is also used well considering it's truly made up of a ton of small cells organized under the main Alliance banner

[Fingolfin_the_Warden]

"Nations on Earth aren't named after geography"
Tell that to the United States of America

[Laotzu.Goldbug]

I think the word Sol/Solar is actually a good descriptor for anything that is specifically based on our home star system.

"The Solar Union"
"The Sol Federation"

[seekingabsolution]

12:05 if you delve into the names of most countries you'll find their meanings tied into Geography. For example, the Scottish name for Scotland is Alba, which is derived from Albion which was derived from a Roman word describing the white cliffs of Dover. Literally named after the first bit of geography many Romans saw.

[leopoldjenkins]

A democracy can also be an empire.
In the early 20th century Britian was a fully fledged democracy but also held huge colonial possessions and ran an empire

[johncarpio]

"empires are ineffective and outdated". Well that sounds like heresy to me. Time to fire up the exterminatus!

[DacStudiosEntertainment]

“Nations on Earth aren’t named geography”
Iceland: ._.
Greenland: ._.
Iceland: should we-
Greenland: *don’t Iceland*

[nathanaelsallhageriksson]

You should've included "kingdom" as many countries today still use it in their official name. And that is for historical reasons. Like, I don't remember hearing it's use in a sci fi name. It would be cool.

[nathang]

"Trade Federation makes no sense..."
I thought you said alien societies aren't bound by any human definitions or concepts.

[appa]

“Confederation of Earth” is a lot like “Senatus Populusque Romanus”
Almost the whole empire was not in Rome. But that’s the indisputable center of power and culture.

[DoctorPropht]

Dare I say it...

The Holy Human Empire

[jim.rnilsen]

A federation is a union of partially self-governing parts, so the ''Trade federation'' is not necessarily disqualified from being a federation