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
Fazl	-	Arabic
Karthika	-	Tamil, Indian, Malayalam
EdİZ	-	Turkish
Krasimira	-	Bulgarian
Malena	-	Swedish, Spanish, Czech
Arisha	-	Russian