If a character's name didn't mean anything then virtually every fictional character would be named something like Gene Goodguy or Penelope PureHeart, but thankfully creators like to get creative with their character's names...kinda.
When the hero is supposed to sacrifice themselves for the good of the people they're named after Jesus, like Commander Shepard in Mass Effect or John Connor (JC) in Terminator.
Name a bad guy Shepherd and they instantly become the worst of the worst, and audiences instantly know what's going to happen. (NSFW-ish)
So how can we avoid this cookie cutter character naming convention?
Get creative and think of names that don't directly relate to the character's archetype, and by all means stop with the obvious biblical connections already!
-Via Cracked