Name your Characters!

In every culture there are names that are significantly more common than others. In modern times names are starting to diversify, but we still have several common names, like James, or Mary, or Emma. Other cultures are the same, and while their names might sound odd to us they're still very common. What I stated above may seem obvious, and admittedly it is, but it's often overlooked in fantasy worlds. Especially when the names used are completely invented, or names that already exist. It's also not something most people ever think about unless they're naming a child, so often it's completely irrelevant.  However it can lend itself to some very interesting worldbuilding, and can actually be used as an excuse for a lot of interesting quirks or titles a character has. Let's use me for example. My name is Kathryn. Do you know how many people are named Kathryn in my school? A lot. I lost count a while ago, so I started going by nicknames in middle school. At first I

 Let's be honest, there isn't really a 'real' name. All names are invented at some point, Katia and Aaron didn't just spring into existence and everyone went 'Yep, that's a name.' All names were invented at some point, please don't argue semantics in the comments below. However while we acknowledge that we can also acknowledge that each culture has their own set of names that were used in the past and are still used today. Names that are familiar to any audience you might have. The real question is if you should use those names, or if you should come up with something brand new all on your own. Honestly there isn't a right or wrong answer to this. It's really up to whatever you, as a writer, want to do.  I have my own personal rules when it comes to inventing names. Usually I limit invented names to only a handful of characters to keep the universe familiar to the audience. Also if I'm working on historical or contemporary stories I tend