I like to use similar names sometimes. It's a flaw, but it's one of my 'fuck you Imma do it anyway' flaws.
Well, I don't mind similar names. What's problematic are names without sufficient character identity. Even cool names are just labels. I've seen chapters that introduce multiple characters without any accompanying character identities. As a result, as a causal reader, I was even confused about who was talking and doing what.