Thanks for chipping in, octopod!

At least continental-scale, i'd say. I think this is a world setting concept. But the world can, theoretically, look as compact as say, the world of conan's Hyborea. So i guess the lines are not that shaply drawn.
I agree with what you said on climates...but i think it'd be cool if we also had tribes that migrated into a northern hemisphere with all that this includes for cultural development and the fitting myths and stuff. Some fur-clad tribes in snow covered mountains always capture my imagination

As to name generation...i also don't speak semitic languages...but maybe someone else does ...or we just make up something similar sounding. And we have the internet to help us