Unfortunately, in the beginning you’ll just have to find something that works for you. I am more advanced (N2) but when it came to learning the kanji pairs, I just brute forced some of the memorization or I had already learned the word before. I think when it comes to this question in particular…
The only way to figure this out is by encountering more kanji with the 名 kanji. A common example is 有名 which means “famous” aka have + name. I learned this word my first year of university Japanese, so I didn’t have to put the kanjis together to make it make sense, and with some kanji later, trying to find connections between them can be extremely difficult like
人参 which is person + participate = carrot. There are some kanji that are just used for their sounds alone.
To answer your other question about switching the kanji around to understand them better…
Most of the time, you’ll make a new/different word with very nuanced or slight differences. The one I think of is 栄光 and 光栄 which are “glory” and “honor” respectively. In English, while these meanings are close, there is a difference between them.
In the end, just learning more, especially in the context of reading online or books or whatever interests you, will help you learn more vocabulary and become more familiar with trying to anticipate what words mean what, but be prepared for some of them to be just brute memorization as well.
I recommend checking out the Absolute Beginner Book Club here in the forums to try reading something with many people here using wanikani. It’s a very kind and helpful place, and will get your immersion started quickly. Absolute Beginners Book Club // Now Reading: A Sign of Affection // Reading Next: My Love Story!
Good luck!