One wonders if Miyazaki is aware that a nonsense word plucked at random for a
name makes one of his more famous works an obcene request/phrase in several
major countries.
Although I haven't seen this one, I doubt it was picked at random. "Laputa"
in "Gulliver's Travels" was a flying island, levitated by a huge magnet.
Given the title of the anime, it's hard to believe it's *not* a tribute to
Swift.
And Swift deliberately chose the name, as part of the satirical level to the
Laputa section of the Travels.
-- Bob