and the original European names are also pretty functional:

I believe Amsterdam is just “River Dam”

And York is just “Yew”, presumably named after trees that grew there. (Eburacon -> Eboracum -> Eoforwic -> Jórvík -> York)

But New York in the United States isn’t even directly named after the English city of York, but rather a person (James Stuart) who was the Duke of York when England took control of the territory from the Dutch.

I can’t say…

I agree.

ASOIAF is amazing, and If GRRM can’t write a good ending, I’d rather the series stay unfinished than have finished it in a way that detracts from the story.