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-- GABRIEL VISITS MARY
. . . But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
As a descendant of David, Joseph was not from the priestly line of Aaron and Levi, but from the tribe of Judah, as was Mary, which is why Jesus would also be a "son of David".
Although many people today are becoming interested in tracing their ancestry, most of us would probably be hard pressed to even give the full names of our grandparents. Names and ancestry were, however, very important to the people of Israel, especially to those of priestly or royal descent, as Luke seems to be stressing -- and the families of both Mary and Joseph no doubt possessed carefully preserved genealogical records, probably reaching back several centuries.
Perhaps it is significant that an article in the New York Times several years ago reported that a Jewish group has researched such records to identify men qualified to officiate as priests in the new temple that Bible prophecy strongly suggests will exist in Jerusalem prior to the coming of the Messiah. Apparently, even the metal vessels and other items of equipment and furniture necesary for them to carry out the ceremonies specified in Leviticus have already been prepared.
In addition to forging links in genealogical chains, the meanings of names can also be very important, which is why the angel Gabriel instructs Mary to name the child she would bear: JESUS -- meaning "God helps" of "God saves", being derived from one of the names of God, "Jehovah", meaning the "Eternal one".