How should I decide the name of my main character?

A main character should have a unique and memorable but pronounceable name. Katniss Everdeen, Bella Swan, Huck Finn, Scarlett O'Hara, Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker are all iconic memorable character names. A writer should also consider the name popularity by decade. Modern popular trends (for example -ley or -adan names) today weren't used 30+ plus years ago, so a 50-year-old woman named Paisley or a man named Kaidan isn't going to feel authentic to the readers. If you give your character a really long first name, try to give them a shorter nickname or pair it with a shorter surname. Using baby name books, yearbooks, or surname websites might be helpful in choosing a unique name.