Ditto here. Many of the suggestions here are very Gen X.
“Tom, Dick, and Harry” is the first one that came to mind (that should still be universal.)
Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup
(All already mentioned, but that’s all I could think of.)
Tinker to Evers to Chance?
Honestly, the first thing I thought of was Tinkers to Evers to Chance. And I’m not that old, nor am I that big a baseball geek!
There’s definitely people in my generation (I’m 42) who would have absolutely no idea what that refers to. But it’s a classic!
It’s from 1910, probably before everyone’s time here.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” as an exclamation.
for a more generationally current trio;
facebook snapchat and twitter
would that be a twittering face-snap?
Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry
Exeter, Ajax & Achilles
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Goat.
Lions and tigers and bears (oh my!)
The three bears (Goldilocks)
Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Benelux countries)
Canada, USA, Mexico (NA countries)
The Dude, Walter, and Donnie
The Three Tenors
Ni, Peng, and Neee-Wom
The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe
Yeah, they might be a bit obscure for modern kids. But I would argue a few of the examples right there in the OP are as well.
Oh, well, then: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?
Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion.
Inigo Montoya, Westley, Buttercup
A number of Biblical trios mentioned, but not Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?!?
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
C’mon. Ask an average 13 year old and you’re going to get blank looks. Ask them who “the three tenors” are, let alone “the Sanderson sisters”.
A lot of these are going over my head and I’m 46.
C’mon, yourself. I don’t happen to know any 13 year olds. Have you asked your 14 year old?
I did. As suspected, most were unheard of.
In the unheard of pile:
Brady Bunch*
Three’s Company
Bewitched
Mitchell Trio
Kingston Trio
Pep boys
Animaniacs*
Ed, Edd, and Eddy
Three Amigos*
Wendy, John, Michael (she knew them once I said Peter Pan, but out of context, she did not and added “They aren’t really famous for being a trio)
Any of the incredible journey movies
Rush
Marx Brothers*
Charlie’s Angels*
The Bee Gees*
The good, the bad, and the Ugly
Inspector gadget
Three dates or furies*
Newhart show
Bronze Sisters*
The three tenors
Wynken, Blinken, nod
Benelux
None of the ones mentioned by Dannybeans
*heard of but couldn’t name any of the characters
There were more but I am typing this on my phone and it’s not letting me copy/paste. That aside, if the OP is reallybwanting a trio young teens will clearly identify with, most of the suggestions are not going to work for the average kid. Also, I’d argue that most aren’t really trios, but rather three characters in the same story.
Heck, I didn’t even hear of Benelux until I worked for a business newspaper in Europe (and I was all WTF is Benelux?). I was, what, 23 at the time? I’d wager most Americans, not just teens, haven’t heard of Benelux. Is it really that common a term here? I don’t think I’ve heard it since those years in the EU.