What's in a Name?

So much is!
Even the most stable and assured people are a little put off when their names are spelled or pronounced wrong. You may tell yourself it doesn't matter, but inside you realize it does. Even though I hadn't been called by my first name, Nancy, since graduating from high school, with trying to get my name and writing known, I want it all spelled out and exclaimed: Nancy LaRonda Johnson! thank you very much. 
A name isn't just how someone is identified, it is a telling of who they are. Many names have a backstory to them. If not named after someone the parents knew or a relative, they could have named the child after someone they admired. Or they could have just liked the sound of a rare name - as I did the main character's name in my first book, Alezea (pronounced 'aw leh zeh ah'); or a biblical name, as the main character in the sequel, Michtam (pronounced 'mik tam'), for which I like the meaning, precious as stamped gold.
My first name, Nancy, came from the nurse during my birth; LaRonda was from the doctor: Ronald, and my mom scrambled the letters and added an 'a' at the end. Johnson is from my dad. :)
It's a sad thing when people give their children names that are not worthy to be a name for someone, and which may even have negative connotations. Working in the legal field, it was not too surprising to me to see someone with the name "Dude" within the legal system, and it wasn't a cultural name that happened to sound like the English word. 
A name should be something to be proud of. Even if you don't necessarily fancy your given name, it shouldn't be an embarrassment or a name of something without value. Which reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Where The Heart Is, with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd. Natalie's character attempts to give her daughter a mighty and worthy name, and calls her "Americus". Well, it did have more meaning than her best friend Ashley's kids names, which were names of snack foods. 
My name, indeed, will have its most value when it is called out by God, and I hear him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Does your or your kids' names have a special meaning or backstory to them?

Please visit these other A-Z Challenge blogs:
Writing Like Crazy
Lots of Crochet Stitches
QRSTUV
Domestic Evolution
Tesseract