What's in a Name?

I am talking about the name of people. Especially, the name of Hindu people. They are always associated with some meaning, some place, some person, or something else. They somehow have some fascinating history associated with it.

So, what is the meaning of my name - Vijay Gandhi?

First Name: Vijay - a name of Hindu origin; pronounced as 'Vee-Jai'.
Meaning: Conquest or just Victory of a battle in Foreign land.
Origin: Lord Vishnu has two gatekeeps - Jay and Vijay; both Jay and Vijay are brothers; Jay being elder. They are popularly known as Jay-Vijay. Me and my brother are named after this duo - Jay-Vijay; the difference being that my brother is younger to me. While Vijay means victory of a battle in a Foreign land, Jay means victory in the native land.
History: It so happened that one day, while Jay-Vijay were guarding the abode of Lord Vishnu, sons of Lord Brahma wanted to meet Lord Vishnu. Without knowing that they were sons of Lord Brahma, Jay-Vijay did not let them in. Frustrated by this act, the sons of Lord Brahma cursed Jay-Vijay and sent them to Earth for 3 births in the form of demons. They were destined to be killed by Lord Vishnu during their lives on Earth.

In the 3 births, Jay-Vijay were born as brothers, in following pairs, respectively -

First birth - Hiranyakashyap & Hiranyaaksh - Hiranyaaksh was killed by Lord Vishnu and to take revenge, Hiranyakashyap gets the avatar which we all know about. Lord Vishnu takes the incarnation of Narasimha to kill Hiranyakashyap.

Second birth - Ravana & Kumbhakaran - Both killed by Sri Rama, another incarnation of Lord Vishnu during the period of Ramayan.

Third birth - Dantavakra & Shishupal - They were cousins of Pandavas and were fighting against Lord Krishna as Lord Krishna had abducted Shishupal's sister, Rukmini. Both were killed by famous chakra of Lord Krishna, another incarnation of Lord Vishnu during the period of Mahabharath.

Jay-Vijay return back to Lord Vishnu after suffering for 3 lives on Earth.

Last Name: Gandhi - another Hindu word; pronounced as 'Gaan-dhi'.
So, whenever I tell somebody my last name, I immediately have to tell them that 'No, I am not related to Mahatma Gandhi.' And that that the Gandhi's actual name is Mohandas; Gandhi is just the surname, like mine. And that is all we share. I am no descendant of Mahatma Gandhi.
Origin: Gandhi is derived from a Sanskrit word Gandhika which means perfume seller. It may also mean a grocer or a pharmacist. People associated with this occupation were generally given the surname 'Gandhi'. It is a surname chiefly occuring in Gujarat among Vanias, Parsis, Oswal Banias of Rajasthan, the Aroras and Jats of the Punjab.