You all would agree that watching cartoons was our favourite pastime in childhood, right? After all, we grew up watching cartoons most of the time!

When it comes to cartoons, let’s agree they attract us with different elements. For example—one of the most appealing elements of a cartoon too many people is none other than the ‘names of the main characters.’ And one such show that captivated us with its unique yet familiar names was the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

However, if you’re not very familiar with the ninja turtle names from this hugely popular franchise, don’t worry! Well, because if you’re an avid follower of cartoons even today and want to bring back one of your most cherished childhood memories of the cartoons you watched growing up, then let’s get to know the ninja turtles names and everything about them—

First things first, for those who don’t know, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a hit program created in the early 90s by American comic book writers Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. 

The Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja’s gained a lot of popularity in that program due to their iconic ninja turtle names. 

Knowing the meaning behind ninja turtles names, you’ll be able to better connect with these ninja turtles characters, there is even the possibility of you choosing your newborn baby boy’s name from one of the four turtles.

So, without further ado, let’s reveal the ninja turtle names of the four main characters in the TMNT franchise.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Names

1. Leonardo

2. Donatello

3. Raphael

4. Michelangelo

These four main ninja turtle names characters of the Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja franchise are also famous for their nicknames.

Also, Check Out: 200+ Disney Cartoon Character Names to Pick From

Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja Names (by Their Nicknames)

Full Ninja Turtle Names of Main 4 Characters	Nickname of Main 4 Characters
1. Leonardo	Leo
2. Donatello	Donnie or Don
3. Raphael	Raph
4. Michelangelo	Mikey

Not only the ninja turtles names and surnames, you can also identify teenage mutant ninja turtles cartoon characters by the colour of the mask they wear.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Names (by Their Colour)

Ninja Turtle Names	Colour
1.Leonardo	Blue
2.Donatello	Purple
3.Raphael	Red
4. Michelangelo	Orange

In addition to the four main characters in the Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja franchise, you will also encounter other animal characters that are listed in the table below. It also lists their respective character names.

Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja Characters Names (by Their Spirit Animal) 

Animal	Character
1. Robot	Chrom Dome
2. Turtle	Donatello
3. Turtle	Leonardo
4. Rat	Master Splinter
5. Turtle	Michelangelo
6. Wolf	Rahzar
7. Turtle	Raphael
8. Human	Shredder
9. Turtle	Slash

Finally, let’s unveil the full list of character names and who played those characters in the Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja franchise.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Characters – All Character List of TMNT Names

1. Splinter by Peter Renaday

2. Krang by Pat Fraley

3. Leonardo by Cam Clarke

4. Donatello by Barry Gordon

5. Michelangelo by Townsend Coleman

6. Super Shredder by James Avery

7. Raphael by Rob Paulsen

8. April O’Neil by Renae Jacobs

9. Genghis Frog by Jim Cummings

10. Irma Langinstein by Jennifer Darling

11. Professor Cycloid by Hamilton Camp

12. Lord Dregg by Tony Jay

13. Groundchuck by Robert Ridgely

14. Bebop by Greg Berg

15. Kala by Tress MacNeille

16. Rex-1 by Jack Angel

17. Carter by Bumper Robinson

18. Caitlin by Maggie Roswell

19. Shredder by Bill Martin

What’s the Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja Franchise?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, also abbreviated as TMNT, is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

It stars Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. These four anthropomorphic turtle brothers have been trained in ninjutsu to fight against evil in New York City.

The concept of this franchise where the turtles are being mutated by a special substance to become ninjas and save the city from danger – has remained a beloved and enduring property, captivating audiences across generations with its mix of action, comedy and relatable teenage mutant ninja turtles cartoon characters. 

Is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise A Success?

As already mentioned, created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, the Teenage Mutant Turtle Ninja franchise first began as a small underground comic book.

Then in 1987, Playmates Toys licensed the comics to make a line of action figures and created an animated series for the series, which became a cultural phenomenon lasting nearly a decade.

During the period from 1988 to 1992 alone, an estimated $1.1 billion worth of TMNT merchandise was sold.

Since then, the franchise has evolved into various forms of media over the years, including animated television series, movies, video games, toys, and merchandise.

Where Are the 4 Ninja Turtle Names Derived From?

The four Teenaged Anthropomorphic Turtles are named after the four Renaissance Italian artists Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello.

To be precise, each of the four different colored turtles were named after the following four artists—

• Leonardo (Blue) from ninja turtles names is named after Leonardo Da Vinci: He’s one of the most fascinating figures in Western art history. He was a painter and sculptor who studied under Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. 

• Michelangelo (Orange) from ninja turtles names is named after Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni: He was widely regarded as the greatest and finest living artist of his time, having engaged in marble sculpture throughout his life and in other arts during his reign.

• Donatello (Purple) from ninja turtles names is derived after Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi: He was an Italian Renaissance sculptor who’s most famous for works such as the magnificent bronze figure of David – which is now housed in the Bargello Museum in Florence.
  
• Raphael (Red) from ninja turtles names is named after Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino: He was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His most famous works include Raphael’s Madonnas and the colossal sculptural works in the Vatican.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Detailed Description- Learn About Their Characters, Personalities, Colors and Weapons! 

Over the decades, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Ninja Turtle Names have been portrayed in many different ways in television, movies, comics, action figures, and video games. However, no matter how they are shown, they have consistently maintained their unique appearance and individuality. 

To make a long story short, what we are trying to say is that TMNT consists of 4 main teenage mutant ninja turtles cartoon characters as the ninja turtle names suggests and each one of them has its own distinct personality, color and weaponry. 

That being said, in this section, we will discuss only that for better understanding of these TMNT character names, so let’s get to know about them—

Leonardo

• Weapon of Choice: Katana Sword
• Color: Blue
• Named After: Leonardo da Vinci
• Name Meaning: Strong as Lion

Leonardo, one of the pivotal ninja turtle names, is the leader of the group. He is the one who is cool, calm and collected among all. 

Being the oldest, he is certainly the more serious and mature of the four brothers. Not only that, he’s also a truly worthy leader of the clan— chosen by Master Splinter because he eats, sleeps and breathes ninjutsu.

Since he has a dedication to learning the ninja arts, he has a strong bond with Splinter, the brothers’ adoptive father.

To tell you more, Leonardo wore a blue mask and carried two katanas as his primary weapon.

He is very strong when it comes to defense and counterattack. Above all, he is primarily a balanced ninja as it can be hard to keep his rowdy brothers in line, but when it comes to defeating the baddies, Leo never lets their strong teamwork get in the way.

Donatello

• Weapon of Choice: Bo Staff
• Color: Purple
• Named After: Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi
• Interests: Science, pizza, April

The smartest of the team, Donatello is an inventive genius and is capable of building complex machines and gadgets. From awesome vehicles to some crazy weapons, he has invented some epic gadgets to ensure the Ninja Turtles’ safety. His other talents include hacking computer systems and cracking security codes. 

However, you’ll notice that in most incarnations, Donatello is played as the least combative player on the team, and often attempts to solve combat issues with science.

Furthermore, what sets him apart from the other Turtles is that Donatello wears a purple mask and wields a bo staff.

Overall, Donatello can do anything as he’s the tech whiz of the group, but he cannot find a way to steal April’s heart because of being the most introverted and socially inept.

Michelangelo

• Weapon of Choice: Nunchucks
• Color: Orange
• Named After: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
• Catch Phrase: Booyakasha!

Michelangelo is the party animal of the team. He has a carefree and laid-back nature, who usually likes to eat pizza. 

He is distinguished by his weapon nunchaku and orange-colored mask. Also, what sets him apart is that he is the youngest and most inexperienced of the turtles.

Know, however, that he is a brilliant artist who is easily swayed and enthralled by almost everything.

While Michelangelo’s antics sometimes attracted the wrath of his brothers or his adoptive father, his social and extroverted personality as a mutant was complemented by his positive outlook on life. 

Most importantly, it needs to be mentioned that when he’s not dancing to his favourite tunes or eating a whole pepperoni pie, he’s kicking some major Kraang butt with his brothers. Above everything, he’s an optimistic character who tries to support his brothers with his jokes and his light-hearted personality.

Raphael

• Weapon of Choice: Sai
• Color: Red
• Named After: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino
• Nickname: Meat-head

Lastly, the team’s bad boy, Raphael is hot-headed and quick to temper. He’s always the first one to start a fight, and doesn’t forget to bring his tough attitude and temper to show.

However, due to his temperamental side, Raphael within each series of the franchise can be seen as guilty of his quick temper and learning to work past his more explosive moments.

You can easily spot him while watching the series, not just because he wears a red mask, but also because his main weapon is a pair of Sai.

Moreover, while he’s sometimes hard on his brothers, Raph is fiercely loyal to his brothers and shows his softer side when he’s with his pet turtle, Spike. 

In addition to all this, when one of the members of the TMNT is injured or in serious danger, he is the first of the brothers to respond.

What Lessons Can Be Learned from The Ninja Turtles?

The lessons learned from the Ninja Turtles are not just one or two, but many. To make you aware of them, some of the lessons include the following—

• Make friends irrespective of your personality and true nature as being turtles they befriend April O’Neill who is human without inhibitions.
• Love your family because family comes first even for these ninja brothers
• Never judge anyone because despite being greeny turtles, April never judges them for who they are and befriends them. Likewise, the Ninja Brothers didn’t judge April for being human.
• Believe in teamwork as the ninja brothers and their friends battle their enemies with will and power as a united force that ultimately leads them to a successful victory and joy.

So, these are some of the great lessons learned from Ninja Turtles which we all should follow in order to see miraculous results in our lives.

Bottom Line

That is all! Now hopefully, everyone is familiar with the Ninja Turtles names as well as their respective colors and some in-depth knowledge about them.

So, having all the pitch-perfect information on point, what are you waiting for? Go on, settle into your seats, and enjoy watching the famous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with their accumulated wisdom.

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