Towns in Japanese gen 8 are like...just the english word. Like Hammerlocke? That's Knuckle. Motostoke? That's "Engine." Honestly gives me gen 2 prototype vibes, like they wouldn't be out of place alongside "High Tech". So good on you, localizers.
Wait, what, really? Let me see:
Postwick - Furlong Town. Alright, a furlong was a unit once used to measure fields with an alternate Japanese spelling meaning a distance pole used in horse racing. So they just used the "post" definition and added British suffix for town. Makes sense I guess, like other home town names it's meant to represent the beginning point of the adventure.
Wedgehurst - Brassie Town. Brassie is a type of golf club, okay... well the English team made it work using another type of golf club with a name that has additional meanings and the word that means wooded hill. Not sure where I see the golf inspiration GF, but for English you can take the town's name meaning it's a town wedged into a hilly forest. Also it's a hilly forest town placed between the starting home, the Professor's lab, and Wild Area which would fit with it being a town wedged in the middle of these important locations.
Motostoke - Engine City. I mean, they're not wrong but feels very in-your-face. Motostoke obviously has "motor" to call back to the engine part but uses "stoke" which has two meanings: stirring up flames (referencing Kabu's Fire-type preference) and is a British toponym term for a (secondary) settlement.
Turffield - Turf Town. Both obvious though Turrfield at least sounds like a location name.
Hulbury - Bow Town. Bow and hull are parts of a ship which makes sense for a port town, though English name adds "bury" which is a British suffix for a fortified enclosure. Hm, I mean we do have to get to it by going through a tunnel dug into a hillside which I guess could be considered a fortification. Though I can also just see the translation team having a list of British town suffixes and locations and just mix-and-matched until they got names they liked.
Hammerlocke - Knuckle City. What? Is GF saying the town is like a hand's knuckles which then splits into the 5 individual fingers like how it splits into paths that leads to the 5 other cities? Feels like the translation team might have struggled with having a related theme so went with a martial arts term (a "hammerlock" is an armlock when you hold your opponent's arm behind their back and hands upwards toward the neck) which could also be locking terminology (a "hammer" is part of a gun's locking mechanism and "locke" is another toponym term which is for a lockable location such as a vault). And honestly the "hammer" part is a stretch (unless you want to take Raihan's signature Pokemon, Daruladon, into consideration).
Stow-on-Side - Lateral Town. So all have to do with a a sport term, specifically for American Football and rugby. "Lateral" is from "lateral pass" which is a throw from one player to another which isn't in the direction toward the goal. This throw is also called an "onside pass" where we get part of the English name. A "stow" is a British typonym for just a place. A more interpretive meaning can be taken from the way it's written, you can say that Stow-on-Side is a place (a stow) that's on a tall cliff side, like it's being "stowed on the side" of Galar.
Ballonlea - Arabesque Town. "Arabesque" is a ballot position (probably the most well known one, where the ballerina is standing on one of her foot with the other outstretched in the air). "Ballon" is another ballet term (where, when the ballerina is jumping, she looks lightweight and light-footed) but has "lea" which is a British suffix for a woodland clearing. Like I guess Fairy-types have this sort of ballot feeling to them, notably with Aromatisse & retconned Kirlia. Taking the ballot terms into consideration, both also fit with arabesque fitting the Gym's theater theme while ballon does match with the town's "floaty" atmosphere.
Circhester - Circus Town. NOT THAT KIND OF CIRCUS! The words "circus" is ancient Roman for an open-air sports arena (don't know how in modern times that turned into a big tent filled with clowns). The appearance of the town matches the Roman origin of the word. Translators didn't try to think of another name, think they threw their hands up in the air and just added "chester" which is a British suffix for fortification but it has a more Roman origin).
Spikemuth - Spike Town. Speaks for itself. "Muth" comes from mouth, a British typonym for river mouth or bay, which makes sense as Spikemuth's entrance is by a river mouth.
Wyndon - Shoot City. Shoot as in a Soccer player "shooting the ball", that's all. Wyndon shows a lot more thought as it contains "win", "wynd" (a narrow lane between houses normally used in Scotland & Northern England), the city London which Wyndon is based on, and finally the British suffix "-don" that means hill (in this case probably meaning "top of the hill").
Also shoutout to the more interesting sounding Slumbering Weald and Glimwood Tangle which original names were Slumbering Forest and Luminous Maze Forest.
However Galar Mine, Galar Mine No. 2, and Route 9 Tunnel could have used some more love. :P
