Young Adult Fiction Character Names

You don’t have to be a teen or tween to love young adult (YA) fiction. The popularity of series like Jenny Han’s bubbly To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to the stand-alone novels of Laurie Halse Anderson, Angie Thomas, John Greene, and Rainbow Rowell speak to this, as does the popularity of teen-centric shows like Riverdale, Never Have I Ever, and 13 Reasons Why. While young adult fiction can be done in a variety of subgenres (dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games and Divergent; supernatural romance like Twilight; throwback to past decades like Eleanor & Park), most YA titles trend toward the contemporary and the now. And those are the type of young adult character names we’re going to tackle here.

Along these lines, we offer up our list of contemporary YA names for your 12-18 year-old characters. For teenaged characters, you can go with the taste of the now in your name picks, and the names will continue to age nicely within the next decade. Fiction also allows you some leeway as far as wearability. A unique name you love might not work on a child of your own, but on paper, the sky’s the limit. Readers remember those standout fictional names for years to come, so take the opportunity to make that obscure name wearable!

We’ve grouped our choices into 12 different teen archetypes that deal with positive and defining aspects of your character’s personality. While in the past we may have thought of teen archetypes based off of the ones we saw in John Hughes movies (like the jock, the princess, the basketcase, the nerd, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks), storytellers in 2020 are using more layered takes on young adult characters. We want to reflect those nuanced takes by thinking of our character names that way, too. Explore all our categories to see if you find the perfect name for your cast of characters!

Advocate

The advocate is cause driven and thrives on social and environmental responsibility. You’ll find this teen leading protests, volunteering, or practicing day-to-day mindfulness about the world around them.

Anselm
Auden
August
Briony
Dominic
Eames
Elias
Emilia
Fatima
Greta
Harrison
Imani
Indira
Julian
Laird
Lucia
Nathan
Nicholas
Quinlan
Rowan
Sasha
Shay
Willa
Xavier
Zoe

Athlete

The athlete is physically driven and thrives on anything related to body and health. Not necessarily a stereotypical “jock,” the athlete might be the popular kid or the loner.

Allie
Austin
Billie
Brooks
Carey
Chase
Colton
Cooper
Daveed
Dex
Easton
Emma
Gabrielle
Jensen
Jordan
Kemba
Mallory
McCoy
Miles
Oakleigh
Pia
Sayer
Tatum
Rory
West

Caregiver

The caregiver is relationship driven and thrives on nurturing others. Sometimes wiser than their years, the caregiver sometimes forgets to care for themselves, too.

Analiese
Avis
Beatrix
Birdie
Cassia
Cordie
Damaris
Elke
Eloise
Emery
Foster
Hettie
Indigo
Janah
Kevon
Lida
Milah
Rami
Roisin
Samara
Tessa
Tuesday
Vale
Zinnia
Zora

Creative

The creative is artistically driven and thrives on originality and the expression thereof. The young creative often has to learn how to develop and embrace their gifts, while overcoming their fears about unoriginality.

Adara
Althea
Bijou
Calloway
Cedar
Dahlia
Ellis
Elspeth
Hoa
Israel
June
Kingston
Lark
Levi
Linden
Llewellyn
Mahala
Margot
Miriam (Miri)
Olive
Pfeiffer
Ronan
Sage
Shiloh
Thea

Explorer

The explorer is driven by discovery and thrives on adventure and travel. They may struggle to stay or commit to one person or place, and they sometimes must learn that exploration can be emotional as well as physical.

Abdullah
Asher
Cashel
Cliff
Cole
Fitz
Frankie
Harley
Hudson
Jett
Jiro
Josephine (Jo)
Lyra
Mardel
Matilda
Mazlo
Phoenix
Rooney
Rowan
Sloane
Sylvan
Vonn
Wyatt
Zadie
Zell

Intellectual

The intellectual is driven by data, and they thrive on thinking and learning. In their pursuit of knowledge and in their confidence in information, the intellectual teen sometimes must learn to trust their gut and learn the difference between fact and truth.

Ántonia
Aoife
Blaise
Carys
Coltrane
Elinor
Harris
Jeremiah
Helene
Isolde
Krishna
Louisa
Mattias
Omar
Ottilie
Roland
Roman
Sahar
Song
Shinwa
Sigourney
Urie
Talisa
Téa
Ziv

Performer

The performer is driven by attention. They thrive on entertaining others. The performer young adult may be involved in theater, arts, or music, but they may also be a comedian, a daredevil, or even an aspiring politician.

Ainsley
Allegra
Carlisle
Carmen
De’ante
Esme
Franco
Harlow
Kenzo
Liv
Maeve
Niall
Nori
Nova
Pax
Pilar
Quaid
Royce
Shiro
Story
Tilden
Trinity
True
Vivian
Xanthe

Rebel

The rebel is driven by freedom and thrives on wild, uncensored behavior and risk taking. This teen may rebel in big and small ways, but usually struggles against authority. Their challenge in life is often to learn the difference between making a rebellious choice and a rebellious reaction.

Ace
Axel
Bart
Bruno
Calix
Cassian
Clio
Delilah
Devi
Diego
Duke
Gannon
Hayes
Kit
Luca
Lux
Maverick
Octavia
Raven
Roxy
Stellan
Teagan
Tomas
Xiomara
Zaire

Royal

Royals are driven by power and thrive on control and luxury. The royal teen can sometimes be a fall from their high-status position, and their struggle is to find their way back to a new place. But their challenges can also involve finding the grace to use their power in a generous, wise, and responsible way.

Aisling
Alastair
Aveline
Bellamy
Cecily
Constantine
Cressida
Everly
Freya
Idris
Imogen
Issa
Jackson
Hollis
Lavinia
Marisol
Maximo
Miki
Romilly
Stella
Sutton
Ulysses
Wells
Zara
Zion

Spiritual

The spiritual teen is belief driven and thrives on prayer and seeking. A spiritual teen may have deep ties to an organized religion, but spirituality doesn’t exclusively mean that this person is religious, either.

Abigail
Amaya
Asa
Calliope
Clara
Dunn
Ephraim
Ezekiel
Ezra
Gabriel
Haven
Hope
Joie
Jorja
Jude
Juniper
Lydia
Maxfield
Moises
Rian
Ruthie
Samuel
Temperance
Titus
Zahara

Tastemaker

The tastemaker is driven by trends and aesthetics and thrives on the fashionable. The tastemaker often sets the stage of style, but their personal challenges lie in cultivating their own individuality and learning not to judge others, and themselves, by aesthetic alone.

Arden
Anais
Clary
Colette
Cora
Elodie
Everett
Forrester
Gigi
Javier
Lara
Leire
Leonie
Luz
Maisie
Matteo
Nala
Qasim
Sebastian
Sienna
Tory
Wilder
Wren
Yardley
Zale

Visionary

The visionary is driven by ideas and thrives on focus and intuition. They are innovators and dreamers. The teen visionary faces the challenge of bringing those visions to fruition, which can be even harder because of their youth.

Akida
Arlo
Aslan
Aspen
Cornell
Elowyn
Elliot
Esau
Ford
Gaia
Khalil
Lita
Lorenzo
Maka
Manon
Marisol
Priyanka
Reese
Rhodes
Saoirse
Serafina
Sybil
Tavon
Vita
Winter

And that’s our list of young adult fiction character names! If you’re still on the hunt for that perfect character name, check out our 10 Tips for Picking a Character Name. Or, look into our archive and browse through one of our many other name lists for character naming ideas!