I am writing a prologue in my book where two character's first meet at an old tavern that's decorated like a cabin in the woods and I can't seem to think of a good name for it. The tavern is in a small town and isn't very busy most of the time. Someone please help me with a name. Thanks, Courtney
Way back in the day I used to live in a town with a bar similar to the one you described except it had the mounted bust of an albino moose over the bar. The bar was called The White Moose Inn, which was a little confusing considering it was just a bar with no inn attached. Another town I was in had one called Three Mills, after the three lumber mills that employed like 90% of the people that worked there. And there was one on the reserve I grew up on called Sambo's, though it would probably be better if you didn't use that one. Guess the point I'm trying to make is maybe you should figure out one of the towns local features or points of pride and make the name an homage to that.
I agree with @The Dapper Hooligan that small town bar names usually reflect the character and culture of the town and/or area that they are in. For example, in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin many bars (some decorated like cabins) have names like Sportsman’s, Angler’s Inn, The Dock, or are just named after somebody: Matt’s, Malone’s, etc. You haven’t told us enough about your community for us to pick a name—but I’m curious why you’d be hung up on such a detail. The name is probably a throwaway for most readers unless it is a central scene for your story. Challenge: name a bar from any popular novel
I'm not entirely sure if this will give you exactly what you are looking for, but when I am stuck on naming a place, I tend to look at names of streets in real life. Often there will be quite a few that will seem fitting. For example, in Baltimore, Maryland there is a street called Ravendale Road, which I would translate to Ravendale, which could make a good name for a town/city depending on the story and/or genre.
The bar is going to take place in a small town just outside of Seattle, Washington it's called San Juan Islands, or Friday Harbor. I'm going to have Lucifer meet a human get her pregnant and after the child's born she's taken away and has a cloaking spell casted on her and it infuriates Lucifer. So I agree, I want the name of the Tavern be related to the story. Maybe the "Devil's Tavern," but that'd be too cliche.
Hmmm that's a good idea, but that makes me think of Crossroads demons from Supernatural. Would that be copying?
The devil at the crossroads is actually a tradition that goes back centuries and originated in different cultures. The Supernatural crossroads demons are a reference to the early blues songs where people would meet the devil to learn how to play violin or something which comes from Hoodoo, a sort of African-American spiritual tradition.
Whats the background of the owner of the tavern, could the name be personalized based on that? There is a tavern in Skyrim called The Drunken Huntsman. The name came about when the owner and his brother went on a hunting trip, got drunk, and his brother accidentally shot him in the ass.
Hmmm! This add’l info makes it more interesting—especially because I’ve been to Friday’s Harbor, know it is on Orcas Island, rains a lot there, and is near a well-known park named Lime Kiln that is known to be one of the best places in North America to observe whales from shore. Thus: Devil’s Kiln, Whale’s Watch, Orca’s Bite, Dry Harbor.... Maybe though, given the tremendous surge in vacation property prices on the San Juan Islands (due to Amazon and other tech companies in nearby Seattle) in recent years, if this is a present-day story, a more trendy name could be called for.
Thanks for the information @DueNorth I've been to Friday Harbor, and San Juan Islands. Wish I could go there again.
The Weathered Oak. Tall Pines Tavern. Iron Nail Tavern. Just a couple ideas for what I picture a rustic, log cabin style tavern to be named. Hope it helps - t
Keep in mind that, in the real world, not all bars have cool names, either. there was one place in my hometown called The Standard Tavern. It was just an awful, awful place, a real dive, but it was unjustifiably popular.
