<P> The original animated series (1987--1996) was produced by Fred Wolf Films Dublin (as Murakami Wolf Swenson (MWS) and Murakami Wolf Dublin (MWD) during earlier seasons), and syndicated by Group W . The series itself is owned by Wolf Films, with home entertainment rights residing with Lions Gate Entertainment, and until recently, syndication rights belonged to Nickelodeon's former corporate sibling CBS Television Distribution . The initial five - part miniseries (retroactively considered the first season) was copyrighted by Playmates Toys, although their rights to those episodes were bought out by Fred Wolf Films . </P> <P> Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation was produced by Saban Entertainment, and as of September 2011, is owned and distributed by Saban Brands . </P> <P> The second animated series (2003--2009) was a co-production between Mirage Studios and 4Kids Entertainment . Nickelodeon's October 19, 2009 buyout of the TMNT franchise included an approximate $9.75 million payment to 4Kids to terminate its right to serve as the merchandise licensing agent prior to the scheduled expiration of the representation agreement in 2012 . Due to the buyout, all future TMNT film and television series rights are owned by Nickelodeon . Nickelodeon also gained the rights to the 2003 series after terminating 4Kids' contract . </P> <P> The first three TMNT live - action films were produced by Golden Harvest, with New Line Cinema (now a sister company of Warner Bros. Entertainment) distributing the films in the United States, with 20th Century Fox distributing the second and third films in most other territories . The first two films were copyrighted by the UK - based Northshore Investments . The third film was copyrighted by Clearwater Holdings . The fourth film was produced by Imagi Animation Studios, and released by Warner Bros. Entertainment in association with the Weinstein Company . </P>

Where did the ninja turtle names come from