What's in a Name?

I must confess that when I come to I Chronicles in my Bible reading I find myself debating whether or not to listen to someone read chapters of foreign-sounding names from an audio-Bible, or whether I should tackle the list myself.  This time four little verses stood out from I Chronicles 1:24-27....

Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram (that is Abraham).                            I Chron. 1:24-27

Wait a minute! Did I just cover TEN GENERATIONS and hundreds and hundreds of years in those four verses?! I recognized Shem, the son of Noah. I recognized Abraham, from whom the rest of the Old Testament story emerges, but what about the third son of Shem...Arpachshad?! No details. Just a name of a man who had a son, and a grandson, and a great-grandson... They lived. They died. No details. 
For the first time it dawned on me: 

these lists of names included in Scripture are not to showcase the greatness of the people, but God's greatness and faithfulness in working out His purposes using generation after generation of "just-a-name" people. ​

These seemingly uninteresting verses connect the very earliest chapters of Genesis 10-11 (before there is an Abraham!) to God's chosen king, David, who is promised an enduring Kingdom.  
​What's in these names in I Chronicles? The Psalmist penned it:

               The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
         The plans of His heart from generation to generation.       Psalm 33:11

               But You, O LORD, abide forever,
         And Your name to all generations. Psalm 102:12

               Forever, O LORD,
         Your word is settled in heaven.
             Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; Psalm 119:89–90

​What's in these names in I Chronicles 1:24-27?
Luke 3:34-36 quotes them, and connects the family tree to the NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES--
​Jesus, the Son of David. 

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