Why Leonidas? What does it mean?

The main purpose of this post is to explain why did I chose the name Leonidas and what does it mean, as the first time I told my parents, their reaction was,"What kind of name is that? I've never heard of such name before." Even both my sisters were baffled with the name.
Both my wife and i agree that we should chose names of much significance for our children. I knew a lot of people who was born without an Christian name but later in life, decides a name for themselves, as it was considered "cool" by many to have an English name. It is different in our case.
As I am Chinese illiterate while my wife isn't, so we agreed that I will chose and English name while she chose the Chinese name.
Three of our children have got their name registered in their birth certificates.
For my first daughter, Isabelle being a Spanish variant of Elizabeth in English means "devoted to God". 
Natalie, a name of French origin, means " born on Christmas", and no, she wasn't born on Christmas.
I have always thought of names with great significance, preferably a historical figure that their name is forever immortalized in the history of mankind.
For a boy, it has got to be a strong name, that is associated with boldness, bravery, and strength. My first choice was Alexander, as I thought of Alexander the Great. However, I reckoned that people would call him  Alex rather than Alexander which is a little difficult to pronounce for their grandparents, and great grandparents who are Chinese educated.
However, as I checked the history of King Alexander of Macedonia that he had a lover who was a man! Yikes!!!...
I continue to search the net for historical figures that is synonyms to bravery, strength, heart, leadership, and exotic. A name which isn't too English, like John, Mark, Peter,etc...
Yikes, these were the names of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ! No offense to my Christian friends.
I stumbled upon the name Leonidas. Hmm... it sounds good, even in short,Leo sounds alright. It's exotic, and as I did more research of that name, I found out it is a Greek name, and of fantastic significance. Leo means lion. Leonidas means either "Son of Lion", or " brave as a Lion" in Greek. It belonged to King of Sparta, Leonidas II, who lead a small number of Spartan to defend against the Persian invaders lead by Xerxes I. Their battle also known as "Battle of Thermopylae" , considered by many as one of the most famous battles in history of mankind. In Greek mythology, King Leonidas is believed to be a descendant of Hercules, and it was documented that he tutored and disciplined Alexander the Great while he was still young, before Aristotle.

An artist impression of the Battle of Thermopylae where the Spartans lead by King Leonidas defended their land from the Persian invaders. 

Although the small number of Spartans lost in the battle against the mighty force of the Persians, which outnumbered them by thousands, King Leonidas is remembered for his bravery, leadership, strength, and never give up attitude, even upon realizing his life is at stake. 

Hence, I chose the name. 

So, to all who questioned the reason for this name and it's "funny and never heard of", I hope this post has answered your questions.