It depends on the story and the character.

I like to realllllyyyy try and flesh out my character's personality, and sometimes that just helps to figure out a good name. Other times, I could try to do that thing that J.K. Rowling did with Tom Riddle and "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT" but it can sometimes be too predictable or seem way too much like something is odd about the name, and I don't like to have people uncovering things too early on just because of a name.

Usually names for my characters just come to me. If I ever struggle with it though I usually go on those baby name sites and scroll through names until I find one that I feel is fitting. Choosing last names though is a nightmare for me >~<

I'm a bit of a knee-jerk namer. I have a list of names I like but even the most random words become names if they seem like the right fit, doesn't matter how bizarre they are. If two characters are from the same culture I aim to find common ground but even then no rules set in stone. Don't worry too much about satisfying your readers, choose names that matter to you. They're your people. Have fun and get invested.

A lot of my characters names are pretty nonsense, Krisle, Trisc, Lairikk. I just go through the alphabet, and make noises until something sticks. I also tend to look through name lists online (of many languages). There's also a lot of name generators online. I find that they help me brainstorm. So if you see a name kind of like what you want, you can just tweak it, and BOOM you have an unusual name. (I.E. Kris=Krisle, which is basically the name Crystal without a T and spelled weird)

How I named a character recently in real time:

What should her name be?

Sarah? No.

Chris? Nah.

Angela? Ew no.

Debbie? Hmm.

Hmm.

Yeah sure why not.

For me it depends on the story. If it's a new idea I'm just trying to get a feel for then I'll use some placeholder names. When I'm working with an idea that I've been kicking around for a while I'll try to start honing in on specific names for the characters. I like the idea of character names having deeper meanings or connections to common themes in the story but whenever I try to come up with a name like that it comes off as too on the nose.

I love seeing baby names ideas from certain countries, If that helps lol

The others just come to me without me thinking too hard about it

Depends on the context of the story for me. The first story I made was based on dreams and took place in our universe so a lot of the characters names came from various cultures and all had to do with dreams and psychology. A lot of their names were just baby names I looked up.

As for my current comic I did the same but because it was another universe I kinda just winged it. Like I would google translate words and corrupt them into a name, take preexisting names use them or change them or use places and objects and mix them up. Or sometimes it would just be names I pulled out of my head because I liked them.

I don't have specific names for my characters until I usually draw out how I imagine them. When writing though, the types of people that my characters always interact with are already thought of as I write the story, so all I need to do is incorporate them into the right scenes, even if it means I have to name some as I write them.

I kinda...just go with it? Like while I'm writing, I just put down the first name that comes to my head then change it later. One time, my big, bad villain was named Timmy.

baby name ideas it helps

I name my characters after drawing them and after I at least have rough storylines planned.

Regarding how I give names, I really like two-syllable names! Idk why lmao. Also, I have this weird belief that since my drawing style is very manga-like, it's weird for my characters to have English names (lmao). But I also don't want them to have Japanese/Chinese/Korean names since I'm not from those countries. And so, I usually choose names that don't sound completely English/Japanese. Something like: Rina, Noa, Mia, Lia, Karen, Lana, Rena, Mana, Sian (yes, all female names).

I also like English names from different origins:
Tomas (instead of Thomas)
Iren (instead of Irene)
Klara (instead of Clara)
Etc...

If I'm stuck, I usually google baby names XD

Also, if I meet someone/see a name that I like, I tell myself "that's going to be my next character's name" haha.

I name my characters as I write, and I guess that's a bad thing since I write many stories at the same time. People have pointed out I have 2 Wyatts, 3 Christophers, 2 Olivers and 2 Ethans (They're all from different stories.)

Oh well, I'm not one to go for basic names, nothing too extraordinary or out there.

I usually just skim through a baby name site/name gen until I find something that clicks, then I build my characters around that.

It really depends on the story and what kind of mood I want! If Im writing something spooky, I'll name it right away. Fantasy is an iff because I have to search for a name. Or sometimes, my characters have no names because they've been lost through time within their story and is referred by a title.

just think of a name that seems fit. I named Crystaleen off her personality and eyes .

i give them bad placeholder names until i get better ones and then end up getting attached to the placeholders

alternatively, as with my character jack: forget his name was supposed to be jake and get attached to the Bad Memory Replacement

I just kind of choose names that sound good. One of my characters has a name that actually means something and the rest are chosen just for kicks.
(Actually for one of my characters I asked my jazz teacher to say a random last name and assigned that to him lol)

Most of my stories take place in an alternate earth - very similar to our own.
Therefore the name choosing consists of searching nice sounding names in different languages, depending on the characters background and ethnicity. I also lookup the meaning behind the names - coz y not
Examples :
Salvatore Marchesi (italian dude)
Jinan GÖKÇE (turkish girl) - goes by Jinny
Eutychia Kosmidi (greek girl) - goes by Efi (pronounced Ehfee)

For me its not what i like, its what i want to tell the reader. The name should be apart of the story, not just something i like.

I grabbed letters, and put them together... this did not always have the right effect..
once i had a character names: Porgasius....

-Google names and then look at what they mean
-Name that I like and look up similar names

I try to look for names that are easy to say/ sound nice and suit the character personality

It depends on the characters importance for me, so if it's a main character or one who's got a big part usually design and personality elements come first then find a name that fits. Some cases a character goes without a name until some of the story or background about the particular characters been written. Other times I'll just pull a random name out of a hat and that's it.

There's also throwing an arrow blindly at a dartboard but only if naming has gotten boring, or it's become too difficult, does that option come up =w=)

I do that too, I give them titles based on the things they do. What I do is imagining myself as a random bystander or a person witnessing them for the first time, whatever pops up in my head will be their nickname.

Like a girl who can transform into a powerful magician that mainly harnesses the power of fire, along with her transformation her black hair turns red and her brown eyes, crimson. My first impressions were "Crimson mage" or "Infernal Flower" But then I remembered that this particular character was a maid. So it hit me, "Blaze Maiden"

I'd give them names afterwards, but I focus more on their personality and backstory first. After I've finalized that, I'd poke google to give me a list of suitable names for them.

Depends on which story and what they need to be.

If it's a just on Earth or if it works, stuff like Steve.

If it's in a fantasy setting, I usually just type gibberish or break out google translate and find the most exotic words.

I gotta have names early on. I don't feel right referring to characters as "the tall blonde one" or some such. I also feel like having names helps me with character development. It's much harder to name a character that's fully fleshed out, rather than a fresh new character. I really struggle with names anyway though, so I always tell myself the early mediocre/terrible name are placeholders. But 9 times out of 10, I get so used to using those names, that I never really change them. If I try to change them, I end up constantly switching back to the old name on accident.

If I'm determined to have a great name for a character, I'll ask my partner, and he'll let me borrow a super cool unique name from his pool of potential character names. Feels bad stealing a name from him though lol.

I can totally relate to OP!
I have characters who are supposed to made their appearance in a few pages and one of them still named "équipier" ("male teammate"). The others two have just been name but are referenced in my scripts as "équipière n°1" and "équipière n°2" ("female teammate n°1/n°2"). XD

I'll say gibberish and hope it sounds cool. And bam! We got a name. Also I try to avoid names of people I know irl cause it feels awkward to me.

Sometimes it's random names that I like (Pablo, Gilbert, Lucy, Jane, Jade.), sometimes it's pun names, (Lord Tiberius Claudius Nemo, Fugo), and sometimes it's made-up names that are just random stuff thrown together/from a dream, (Cordensia, Ardella, Tintom).

As most of these guys said, I usually come up with a personality first and find a name that fits that characters. I try to look up the meanings of the names and if it clicks in my head and feels good then there we go. Other times names come from people I know in real life.

In high school I knew a girl named Jamie who was really pretty, bubbly and overall a really sweet girl. So when I created a character who was bubbly, cute and nice, the name Jamie popped into my head immediately and it just felt right. And then sometimes it's just random. I had a character named Tyler once and it never really felt right but I kind of just rolled with it, until I called him Ryan in my head by accident because I was talking to someone named Ryan earlier and it clicked immediately. Like he was obviously a Ryan, not a Tyler, how could I be so blind?

I give my characters asap when I first come up with them, often as I'm thinking of their design, personality, and Power/Ability.
Before I gave my characters generic or made-up names but lately I've been naming my characters after historical figures that often come to mind. Sometimes the character corresponds well to the figure they're named after sometimes they're not. I've named characters:
Daedalus, Wallenstein, Kublai, Trastemara, Moltke, Arch Medes (Archimedes), etc

Kind of like the Hirohiko Araki school of "Name characters after random songs"

I either come up with a character or a name first. I usually go with whatever name I feel fits a character if I design them first which I usually prefer doing. Doing name first and then coming up with a fitting design is too much of a hassle. The series I'm making right now I came up with the names first and it's been challenging but fun. Sometimes I just make them up other times I just go on baby name sites.

I usually assign characters their personality attributes and the their role in the plot first. Then I have a rough idea on how they are like then I look up a name that best describes those features. Well that is a recent practice I have implemented because making names up is rather difficult.

I try to use names that add something to the story, usually they are already deeply connected with the main thematic and influences the work. But another thing I have in mind is that it is not necessary for all the characters to have names, especially characters that are not the main characters of the story, because thinking about our daily lives, we do not always know the names of people who cross our paths, just referring to them as "that guy", "that lady", etc ...

The level of ridiculousness is entirely story-dependent. My main protagonists are Coi Zab, Jankie Grimble and Xelia Poonasm - but that lends to a very specific vibe I wouldn't want for every project. It's fun to have hidden meaning in character names but if it's truly inessential to the story I go baby name diving or mix and match from influences I want to nod to. I don't always have the characters named before I get into full scripting, though I prefer to (it saves time in the long run).