The most common name is the one nobody chose

When people make a character for the first time, they rush to the fun parts: personality, looks, the first scene. The name goes in last, in a hurry: Alisa, Anya, Liza. The result is dozens of look-alike heroines in the catalog, and from the first line the other person thinks, "I feel like I've met her before."

Spend five minutes on the name. It'll come up in every scene, and it shapes how people address your heroine: tenderly, warily or with a smirk.

The name promises, the personality delivers

There are two honest routes. The first is a match: soft, homey Varvara, sharp Zlata, cold Regina. The other person knows right away who they're talking to. The second is contrast: a sweet name like Ksyusha on a mercenary, a stern Eleonora on a chatty giggler. Contrast is harder, but it sticks.