Korean Surnames

Korean names are used in South and North Korea. Note that depending on the Korean characters used these names can have many other meanings besides those listed here. See also about Korean names.

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Usage

Initial letter

Source

Meaning

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the meaning is anything from the name's write-up that is surrounded by "double quotes"
separate search terms with spaces
search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes
this field understands simple boolean logic
- force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign
- force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign
expand search to ancestral names: meanings for names further up the family tree will be included in the search

Description

ignore name meanings

the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name
separate search terms with spaces
search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes
- example: "lord of the rings" will match names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings'
this field understands simple boolean logic
- force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign
- force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign
- example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus will match Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus
ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

Origin

Length

Syllables

syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations
names without pronunciations are excluded from results

Pattern

the pattern will be compared to the name
* is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters
- example: *oo* will match names which contain oo
_ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter
- example: __z will match names which have two letters and then z

Sound

case sensitive
negative matches include missing pronunciations

see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds
sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations
names missing pronunciations are excluded from results by default
* is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation
- example: *lee will match names which end with the sound lee
(s) will match exactly one syllable in the pronunciation
- example: (s)(s)ra will match names which have two syllables and then the sound rah
(c) will match a consonant
(k) will match a consonant or consonant cluster
(v) will match a vowel
(p) will match a plosive or stop consonant
(f) will match a fricative consonant
(n) will match a nasal consonant
case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds

Related name

Relationship

expand search to ancestral names

the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name
- example: searching for diminutive will return Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth
selecting (all core forms) will exclude peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations
expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree will be included

Popularity

Namesake

User list

enter a behindthename.com username to search that user's public personal name lists
to limit your search to a specific list, put the name of the list in brackets after the username

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CHO 조, 趙 Korean
Korean form of ZHAO, from Sino-Korean 趙 (jo).

CHOE 최, 崔 Korean
Variant romanization of CHOI.

CHOI 최, 崔 Korean
From Sino-Korean 崔 (choe) meaning "high, lofty, towering".

CHUNG 정, 鄭 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 정 (see JEONG).

GANG 강, 姜 Korean
Variant romanization of KANG.

GIM 김, 金 Korean
Variant romanization of KIM.

HAN 한, 韓 Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.

I 이, 李 Korean
Variant of LEE (2).

IM 임, 林, 任 Korean
From Sino-Korean 林 (im) meaning "forest" (making it the Korean form of LIN) or 任 (im) meaning "duty".

JEONG 정, 鄭 Korean
Korean form of ZHENG, from Sino-Korean 鄭 (jeong).

JO 조, 趙 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 조 (see CHO).

JUNG (2) 정, 鄭 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 정 (see JEONG).

KANG 강, 姜 Korean
Korean form of JIANG (2), from Sino-Korean 姜 (gang).

KIM 김, 金 Korean
Korean form of JIN, from Sino-Korean 金 (gim) meaning "gold". This is the most popular surname in Korea.

LEE (2) 이, 李 Korean, Chinese
Korean form of LI (1), from Sino-Korean 李 (i). It is also a variant Chinese romanization of LI (1).

MOON (1) 문, 文 Korean
Korean form of WEN, from Sino-Korean 文 (mun).

MUN 문, 文 Korean
Variant romanization of MOON (1).

PARK (1) 박, 樸, 朴 Korean
From Sino-Korean 樸, 朴 (bak) meaning "plain, unadorned, simple".

RHEE 리, 李 Korean
North Korean form of LEE (2).

SONG 송, 宋 Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 宋 (sòng) referring to the Song dynasty, which ruled China from 960 to 1279.

YI 이, 李 Korean
Variant of LEE (2).

YOON 윤, 尹 Korean
Variant romanization of YUN.

YUN 윤, 尹 Korean
From Sino-Korean 尹 (yun) meaning "govern, oversee".

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