I do a quick search to be sure that character names don't have connotations/associations that conflict with the character. As an example, I wouldn't call a good-guy character Hitler or Dahmer.
Peter Van Houten is Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Casper College, but I doubt he's the reason the name sounds familiar to you. I found a photographer and a singer, both Canadian, with a main character's first and last name, but no one with her complete name. Secondary characters also appear to have unique names except for one who shares a first and last name with a dancer and one with a cello player. Interesting that they all have art-related careers. Not a diesel mechanic among them. Oh, wait. I did find a private investigator that shares a name with a character and the cellist. Heck, come to think of it, I'm the only person I can find with my own appellation. Cool. I'd hate for it to become all touristy, though it does make it easy for people to find me, darn the internet.
Since most of my original characters have names I made up by randomly smashing the keyboard, I never find them.
Yes, and turns out it's only one letter off from the guy who composed the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.
