The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are named after famous Italian artists because their creators could not think of enough Japanese names.

In 1983, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the turtles in Dover, New Hampshire. They originally wanted Japanese names to match the ninja theme. They found it difficult to choose names that worked well for their story.The creators looked through a book called Janson’s History of Art. They chose Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. These men were famous painters and sculptors from the Renaissance period in Europe. This period lasted from the 14th to the 16th century.The creators liked the contrast between classical art names and silly turtle characters. In the very first comic book, Michelangelo was actually spelled 'Michaelangelo' by mistake. This spelling error was not fixed for nearly 20 years.Leonardo was named after Leonardo da Vinci and became the leader of the group. Donatello was named after the sculptor Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi. Raphael was named after Raffaello Sanzio. These names helped the comic book stand out from other superhero stories.