The author misses one useful strategy (or maybe it's just a sub-strategy of #3): Pick a name that is a former fad name. I was named after two uncles (same name, one on each side!) and my name is wildly common in men 30-60 years older than me and unusual in my age group. This is ideal: everyone knows how to spell it, and nobody thinks it's a weird name, so I have most of the advantages of an unusual name without the disadvantages. :)