I have a certain workflow that I use when scanning negatives. I adhere to it very strongly because that way I don't forget stuff. My naming convention is simple. I use the date on the photo package as the root for naming. For example, if the package is dated 11/1/98 I assign the photos to a folder named 981101. If there are more than one batch on a given day, I append a letter like 981101A. The folder names are the root of the photo names. The latter would start with 981101A_0001 and in sequence after that.

Now about the date created. I use the date on the package as a starting point. If I know the date the photo was taken I can use Lightroom's metadata functions to change the date created. Lots of times I don't know exactly when a photo was taken, but I can get a range knowing the subject. For example, I pick a date during the event and use it for all photos.

Sometimes I do some sleuthing to find the date. In today's photo of my son Richard he is holding a trophy the Quiz Bowl team won in 1998. I was able to zoom in and read some things off the trophy. It was from the Texas A&M Quiz Bowl tournament. I fired up Gemini and was able to find the exact date of the event by referencing some questions which were archived from the tournament. It was fun.