The name, of course, is very much like Padme's. But would Lucas give another character a name so close to her's? Well, here are a couple of possibilities:

Maybe Lucasfilm screwed up, and it was meant to be SENATORPADME.COM, but they made a typo. Of course, you'd think they would notice this and then register the correct domain (SENATORPADME.COM is still available).

This Senator theory would tie in with the idea that Amidala/Padme is no longer the Queen of Naboo. After TPM, Naboo was probably left without a Senator on Coruscant...maybe she took over? A Hayden Christensen quote from the French Star Wars magazine back in July may have offered a clue to this:

L:Was it difficult to read with Natalie,the first time? What have you read?

HC: It was fantastic. I was Anakin, she was a senator. It's a scene that won't be used in the movie, but it was SW...

Another possibility is that she was named after this Senator. Maybe this person is a friend of the Naboo. Maybe a friend of the family? Maybe a famous politician who lived years before, but is still remembered?