SANJIESAN LORE / Place names
An old place name still needs a clear location
A town can have an older name in a song and a newer one on the present map. The difference can enrich the setting, provided the working record makes clear whether both names refer to the same place. Check one name change before expanding a glossary into a long list of disconnected aliases.
Give the location a stable working reference
Choose a local identifier for the invented location and put both names beneath it, with the story period or speakers associated with each. A separate village that shares the older name needs its own identifier. World Anvil’s article-linking reference describes connecting terms to articles; when using any linking tool, inspect the destination instead of assuming a matching word means a matching entity. This is a recordkeeping choice for the exercise, not a new official naming rule.
Read the name in its scene
Check a song, a traveller’s question and a map label that use the names. Decide whether the people in the scene understand the reference or need a clarification. Keep a deliberate misunderstanding if it serves the story, but record the intended identity behind it. Do not make every speaker use the latest name simply to simplify the glossary. The point is to preserve a readable relationship between period, speaker and place, rather than erase variation.
Check what the reader can follow
Use the working map and the passages to trace the location without an oral explanation. Add a small contextual clue where the identity would otherwise be unknowable, while keeping intended mystery intact. Update both the alias record and relevant cross-references after a rename. For an established world, retain the approved place identity and treat a proposed name change as a proposal until authorised. A new label must not silently create or remove a settlement.