"Say my name, Say my name" How Significant Are The Names We Are Given: What Do They Say About Us

(5) “The name of the man was Elimelekh, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons Maḥlon and Kilyon, Ephratites of Bethlehem in Judah. They came to the fields of Moav, and were there” (Ruth 1:2).
“The name of the man was Elimelekh” (Ruth 1:2). Rabbi Meir would expound names. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa would expound names. “The name of the man was Elimelekh,” as he would say: To me [elai], the kingdom [malkhut] will come. “And the name of his wife was Naomi,” as her actions were fine [na’im], and pleasant [ne’imim]. “And the names of his two sons Maḥlon and Kilyon” – Maḥlon, for they were eradicated [nimḥu] from the world; Kilyon, for they were eliminated [kalu] from the world. “Ephratites,” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: He was a resident of the palace. Rabbi bar Rabbi Neḥemya says: He was a nobleman. Another matter, “Ephratites,” Rabbi Pinḥas said: The entire crown with which Ephraim was crowned by Jacob at the moment that he passed from the world. He said to him: ‘Ephraim, tribal heads, heads of the yeshiva; the most excellent and outstanding of my children will be called by your name.’ “Son of Toḥu, son of Tzuf, Ephratite” (I Samuel 1:1); “Yorovam ben Nevat Ephratite” (I Kings 11:26); David, son of an Ephratite man” (I Samuel 17:12); “Maḥlon and Kilyon, Ephratites.”