pay one's dues

Earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. For example, She'd paid her dues in small-town shows before she finally got a Broadway part. This expression transfers the cost of being a paid-up member in an organization to that of gaining experience in an endeavor. [Mid-1900s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Mneme	-	Greek Mythology
Rupa	-	Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Nepali
Velvel	-	Yiddish
Jefferson	['dʒefəsn]
Hruodnand	-	Ancient Germanic
Vilho	VEEL-ho	Finnish