I'm back although I was only sorta gone. Anyway, on to the matter at hand:
Name question:
When I start creating a character, nationality is very important to me. Typical customs, beliefs, all that good stuff influences my decisions. Anyway, once I've finished their backstory, I consult a random name generator and make it generate names of the nationality I want for them. I'll take note of the names that I like the sound of and look up their meanings. The one that suits the character I have created most wins! This doesn't work so easily in pokemon RPs or ones where there isn't an earth though, in which case I skip the to the last two steps.
NPC question:
I love 'em. I could list all sorts of reasons for that. They help spice up your character's personal story and help said character develop, they let you post when there isn't anyone available to interact, they can serve as a bridge for others' characters to interact with your own, etc. I use them a lot and I wouldn't do it any other way.
No especially notable ones thus far, but I do feel the need to mention one in specific in Youkai Academy. I joined it very early on upon my return to PC and thought it would be better for me to make a simple character. At some point, I started getting bored with him because he ended up being too simple and the novelty of his unawareness and obliviousness wore off. Thus, I created Luthas. An intelligent and gentlemanly sort of foil for my uninformed and primitive Yorick. Creating interactions between them was a blast and planning an entire situation revolving around Luthas and strongly involving Yorick gave me new insight as to how to develop and expand upon Yorick.
So TL;DR, NPCs are good for you. (Yes, I'm copying you, mucus)