Looking up character names is the worst, yay, nay or both?

[TheLemmaLlama]

Tip on creating weird names that are pronounceable; think syllables, not spelling. E.g. you can take the 'ple' from 'apple' and cut the 'd' from 'sword' and get 'Ple-Swor' ... then figure out a better way to spell it later, like 'Pulswar'

(not the best example I know, but at least it's pronounceable XD)

On the topic of naming conventions, I don't intend to establish naming conventions for my fantasy series that I'm still worldbuilding for, but I do have an idea of what phonemes are used in languages in certain areas. For instance, some of the regions doesn't have 'a' as in 'apple' or 'hay' - they only pronounce 'a' as in 'hard', so locals wouldn't have names like 'Sander' or 'Ainslie', but 'Sigma' would be a viable name. This imo is a good way to make names that sound distinct to certain regions

[Kiwinkcomics]

I normally use Behind The Name to help find names for the characters whenever I'm stuck with what to call them. On occasion, I will normally try to do an in depth search to figure out the name meaning of a particular name and figure out if it suits the character as well.

Other than that, normally I don't put too much thought into names unless it's a name from another country, which in that case, I need to make sure I get the names right to be respectful and making sure I didn't accidentally make up one on the spot.