Book & Character Names

Several times now I've come up with a book title or character name only to find that it's already been taken. Google is of course the tool of preference in finding out before you go too far down the line with a story. Worse than that, I've actually had a character name STOLEN by a publishing company which shall remain nameless - at least for now. About a year after I approached a company about a book they published a similar one with exactly the same title. How did I know it was stolen and not coincidence? Because it was a very strange three word title. Bastards.