I have a few names that I'll recycle from one save to the next. Some of them I just like, and others I use for a specific reason usually having to do with my plans for that particular sim. I normally decide what career and/or skills a sim will pursue at birth, so the name is part of the overall theme of that sim's life.
A few examples: Bianca for painter, Cynthia and Victoria for writers, Dara for an inventor, etc. (If a female sim will have a bunch of kids and therefore wouldn't work much in a rabbithole career, at least for a while, she tends to be self-employed instead.) I also like Alex for a fisherman and Jerry for a sculptor.
For some reason, my 5-Star Chef is usually named Susan. I don't know why, it just kind of stuck.
Names for sims with rabbithole careers can vary, especially when they have hobbies first, but a sim who'll be an International Super Spy is always Michael, and one who'll wind up a Master Thief is always Neal. On a completely unrelated note, when I can't sleep sometimes I consume a gigantic pile of trash TV.