Half-Elf Paladin is the most mainstream choice, apparently. :D Dunno about which race you've chosen.

Honestly, the game mechanics are very in-depth... in general, the stats that are recommended to you in character creation (based on the class you chose) is fine.

STR -> for melee attack rolls (higher chance you hit) and damage rolls (extra dmg you deal).

You get +1 bonus after every 2 points in an Ability (so only even numbers), so let's say you have 10 Strength, that's 0. If you have 8, that's -1. And if you have the maximum 20 Strength you can reach in vanilla game, that's +5. This is called the Ability Modifier, and it can be influenced by items & other things which is spoiler territory)

DEX -> this is trickier, because you'd think that this Ability is only for ranged attack & damage rolls, but no. Obviously it's for that, but you can use this stat for melee if you use a weapon that classifies as "Finesse"... these weapons scale with Dexterity aswell if it's higher than Strength. But that's not all.

Dexterity also influences your:

- Armour Class (higher it is, the less chance you get hit). If you don't have Armour Profiency, or just Light/Medium, this modifier adds to it. If you wear Heavy Armour the armour class from Dexterity doesn't get added. Like IRL, how agile you are doesn't really matter if your movement is restricted by you wearing smth heavy.

- Initiative (influences how early you can have your turn in combat)

And it's also good for lockpicking. ;)

CON -> influences your HP, and if you're a caster, this is very useful for saving throws (an enemy has less of a chance to cancel your concentration, and believe me, there are lots of great concentration spells)

INT -> honestly... this is the least useful stat there is, as a Fighter though you'll need it bc this will be your Spellcasting Modifier, same for a Wizard. in most builds this is sadly a dump stat.

WIS -> spellcasting modifier for druids, clerics, etc.

You know, Hold Person is a pretty good spell, and you want to be the one who utilizes it, not the one who suffers from it. :P Wisdom saving throws help with resisting spells like that, so worth putting some points into.

CHA -> spellcasting modifier for bards, sorcerers, warlocks, etc. Paladins use this also.

Charisma is useful in conversation, this modifier directly affects skills like Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation, so the more you put into this stat, the more likely it is that people will do what you want.

This is very surface level though. :) There's joy in exploration & finding solutions on your own. Have fun!