On a non-diegetic level, Ankh-Morpork is a parody of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar. Not only is the name effectively the same with the addition at the end of the inherently humorous word »pork«, the city's character is clearly based on its precursor. Bizarrely, Terry Pratchett denied this for his entire life and career, claiming first that it was a pure coïncidence, then at a later date that it must have been an unconscious influence. These are startling lies, since the first time Ankh-Morpork is mentioned in the Discworld series, in the first book, The Colour of Magic, it's in connection with Bravd and the Weasel, overt parodies of Leiber's characters Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, who call Lankhmar home.
Presumably, Pratchett was motivated in this ludicrous attempt at deceit by how critical the city ended up being in his own œuvre; having started as a parodist, he was embarrassed at continuing as a half-plagiarist. This is not to say that we're talking about some grand crime, and certainly the city gradually develops its own character, but the lineaments are very obvious, and the idea that e.g. Tallinn (as he claimed on some occasions) had a greater influence on it is patently absurd; the two main sources are visibly Lankhmar and Dickensian London. It would have been worthier, to my mind, for Pratchett to have just owned the connection and admitted his debt to Leiber, who is, after all, the best inspiration imaginable for a fantasist. I can't imagine that a man with Leiber's good cheer and sense of humor would have objected to such a homage.
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