[acjama]

My wife also has kanji compound name that most Japanese need to ask how to pronounce. Her parents chose the kanji with only personal preference in mind, and so did a friend to her child. And nobody has ever asked what my name means. Meanings of names or it's etymology simply are not important to (dare I say) most of the people, even in Japan.

I believe westerners are mostly concerned of how names sound and Japanese on top of that, how it looks written. Of course if the most suitable kanji compound for a name has a meaning like "federation of evil" (as does mine) or something, then some reconsideration might occur.

Just a tad on the side, but I once went to look for this Chinese dude in Yokohama Chinatown I've heard of, who was very good at writing western names in Chinese characters. Wanted to get a calligraphy poster for my sister with her chinetized name, but alas, didn't find him. Point being that Chinese has better rules for writing western names in kanji than Japanese.