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!