Korean Submitted 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.
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Ahn 안, 安 Korean
Alternate romanization of An.
An 安, 안 Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 安 (ān) meaning "peace, quiet".
Bae 배, 裴 Korean
Korean form of Pei, from Sino-Korean 裴 (bae).
Baek 백, 白 Korean
Korean form of Bai, from Sino-Korean 白 (baek).
Bak Korean
Variant of Park 1.
Ban 반, 潘 Korean
Korean form of Pan 2, from Sino-Korean 潘 (ban).
Bang Korean
Bang is derived from the Korean word ‘sarangbang’ referring to a ‘room’.
Bangsong 방송 Korean (Rare)
from the Korean word bangsong, meaning "broadcasting"
Boo 부, 富 Korean
From Sino-Korean 富 (Bu) meaning "Fortune".
Buyeo 부여 Korean
Archaic surname of the ancient Buyeo Kingdom
Byeon 바운. Korean (Modern)
Variant romanization of Sino-Korean 邉 (Byun) meaning "Border".
Byun 병, 邉 Korean
From Sino-Korean (Byun) meaning "Border".
Cha 차, 車 Korean
Cha is a relatively uncommon family name in Korea. The Yeonan Cha clan is the only clan. The founding ancestor was Cha Hyo-jeon, son of Ryoo Cha-dal (류차달) (10th century AD). Most of the clan's members live in Gyeongsang, Hwanghae, and P'yŏngan provinces... [more]
Chae 채, 蔡 Korean
Korean for Cai.
Chang 장, 張 Korean
Variant romanization of Jang.
Cheon 천, 天, 千 Korean
From Sino-Korean 天 (cheon) meaning "sky, heavens" or 千 (cheon) meaning "thousand, many".
Cheong 정, 청, 鄭 Korean
Variant of Jeong.
Chong 정, 鄭 Korean
Variant romanization of Jeong.
Choo 추, 秋 Korean
Variant romanization of Chu.
Dae Korean
From Sino-Korean 大 meaning “great”.
Dokgo 독고 Korean
Korean form of Dugu, from Sino-Korean 獨孤
Doseolji 도설지왕 Korean
Originated from the Gaya Confederacy
Ga Korean
Variant of Ka.
Gam 감, 甘 Korean
South Korean, from Sino-Korean "甘" (Gam) meaning "Sweet".
Go 고, 髙, 高 Korean
Variant romanization of Ko.
Goe Korean
Varient of Ko.
Gok 곡, 谷 Korean
From Sino-Korean 谷 (Gog) meaning "Valley".
Gu Korean (Anglicized)
A Korean surname, meaning "tool, device, utensil". Derived from the Chinese surname 具, (Jù)
Gug Korean
From korean hanja 國, 菊, or 鞠. A surname for 19 000 koreans
Gwak 곽, 郭 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 곽 (see Kwak).
Gwan 관, 官 Korean
From Sino-Korean (Gwan) meaning "Tube".
Gye 계, 季, 桂 Korean
Etymology uncertain, possibly deriving from the Hanja element 季 (gye) ("season") or 桂 (gye) ("cassia, cinnamon").
Ha 전, 河 Korean
From Sino-Korean 河 (ha) meaning "river, stream".
Hak 학, 鶴, 斈 Korean
From Sino-Korean (Hag) meaning "Crane" or (Hag) meaning "Learn".
Heo Korean
Often spelled as ‘Huh,’ this Korean surname means ‘to permit’ or ‘advocate’.
Hong Korean
This surname originated in China and refers to ‘expand’ or ‘great’.
Hong 洪, 홍 Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 洪 (hóng) meaning "flood" or "vast, wide".
Hwang 황, 黃 Korean, Taiwanese
Korean form of Huang, from Sino-Korean 黃 (hwang). It is also a Chinese alternate transcription of the same name chiefly used in Taiwan.
Hwangbo 황보, 皇甫 Korean
Korean form of Huangfu, from Sino-Korean 皇甫 (hwangbo).
Hyun 현, 玄 Korean
From Sino-Korean 玄 (hyeon) meaning "deep, profound, mysterious".
Ihyoso 이효소 Korean (Archaic)
Archaic title
Isageum 이사금 Korean
From Old Korean - Shillan 泥師今/니ᄉᆞ금 (nisokum) "ruler" or "emperor" and derived from Old Korean 니 "first, principal, main, teeth" + ㅅ "genitive particle" and Old Korean 금 "grand, great, big"... [more]
Jaegal 제갈 Korean
Korean form of Zhuge, from Sino-Korean 諸葛
Jang 장, 張 Korean
Korean form of Zhang, from Sino-Korean 張 (jang).
Jeon 전, 全 Korean
From Sino-Korean 全 (jeon) meaning "whole, entire".
Jong 정, 鄭 Korean
Alternate romanization of Jeong chiefly used in North Korea.
Joo 주, 朱 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 주 (see Ju).
Ju 주, 朱 Korean
Korean form of Zhu, from Sino-Korean 朱 (ju).
Jwi Korean
Jwi means mouse in Korean.
Kam 감, 甘 Korean
North Korean, from Sino-Korean "甘" (Kam) meaning "Sweet".
Kan 강, 姜 Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Kang used by ethnic Koreans living in parts of the former Soviet Union.
Kang 康, 강 Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 康 (kāng), derived from Kangju (康居), the Chinese name for an ancient kingdom in Central Asia (now known as Sogdiana). It may also refer to the city of Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, which was called 康 in Chinese.
Kangjeong 강전 Korean (Archaic)
Meaning unknown. Surname for 50 koreans, very archaic.
Khvan Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Hwang used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
Kil 해평리, 海坪里 Korean
There is one Chinese character for the Kil surname. In the 1930 census, there was a significantly larger number of Kils living in Korea; it was the 62nd most common name in Korea. In a census taken after the Korean War, however, it had dropped to 72nd... [more]
Ko Korean
There is only one Chinese character for the surname Ko. There are ten different Ko clans, but they are all descended from the Ko clan of Cheju Island. There is no historical information regarding the founder of this clan, but there is a legend which tells of three men who appeared from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain... [more]
Kogai Korean (Russified)
Variant transcription of Kogay.
Kogay Korean (Russified)
Form of Ko used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
Koh 고, 高 Korean
Alternate romanization of Ko.
Kwak 곽, 郭, 霍 Korean
From Sino-Korean 郭 (gwak) meaning "outer city" (making it the Korean form of Guo) or 霍 (gwak) meaning "quickly, suddenly".
Kwan Korean
Korean Hanja: 管, 關 ... [more]
Kwon 권, 權 Korean
Korean form of Quan, from Sino-Korean 權 (gwon).
Lim Korean
12th most common surname in Korea. ... [more]
Min Korean
Meaning: Sensitive, fast, quick, clever, smart. famous bearer of this name is kpop idol/rapper Min Yoongi also known as Suga from BTS.
Myung 명, 明 Korean
Korean form of Ming, from Sino-Korean 明 (myeong).
Na Korean
There is only one Chinese character for the Na surname. Some sources indicate that there are 46 different Na clans, but only two of them can be documented, and it is believed that these two sprang from a common founding ancestor... [more]
Nam 남, 南 Korean
From Sino-Korean 南 (nam) meaning "south".
Namkoong 남궁, 南宮 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 남궁 (see Namgung).
No 노, 盧 Korean
Korean form of Lu, from Sino-Korean 盧 (no).
Noe Medieval English, Korean
A patronymic form of the biblical male given name Noah from the Hebrew word "noach" meaning long-lived. Possible origins could be ... [more]
Noh 노, 盧 Korean
Alternate transcription of No.
Oak 옥, 玉 Korean
Variant transcription of Ok.
Ock 옥, 玉 Korean
Variant transcription of Ok.
Ogai 오, 吳 Korean (Russified)
Alternate transcription of Ogay.
Ogay Korean (Russified)
Form of Oh used by Koryo-saram using the particle -gay of unexplained meaning.
Ok 옥, 玉 Korean
Means "jade" in Korean.
Pae 배, 裴 Korean
Alternate romanization of Bae.
Paek 백, 白 Korean
Alternate transcription of Baek.
Pak 박, 樸, 朴 Korean
Alternate romanization of Park 1.
Pi 皮, 피 Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 皮 (pí) meaning "skin, hide, leather".
Pyak Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Baek used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
Pyeon Korean (Rare)
Meaning unknown. Approximately 15 000 koreans have this surname
Ri 리, 李 Korean
Alternate romanization of Lee 2 chiefly used in North Korea.
Rkhi 리, 李 Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Rhee used by ethnic Koreans living in parts of the former Soviet Union.
Roh 노, 盧 Korean
Alternate transcription of No.
Ryang 량, 梁 Korean
North Korean form of Yang.
Sa Korean
There are three Chinese characters associated with this surname. Two of these are extremely rare and are not treated here. The remaining Sa surname is also quite unusual. There are two distinct clans, one of Kyŏngsang South Province’s Kŏch’ang County and the other originating with a refugee from Ming China who came to Korea near the end of the Koryŏ period (ad 918–1392).
Sakong 사공 Korean
Sang-hyun Korean
Sang-hyun is a Korean unisex given name, predominantly masculine. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name.
Seo 서, 徐, 西 Korean
From Sino-Korean 徐 (seo) meaning "slowly, quietly, calmly" or 西 (seo) meaning "west, western".
Seong 성, 成 Korean
From Sino-Korean 成 (Seong) meaning "Success".
Seonu 선우 Korean
From the Taewon Sunwoo Clan, written using the hanja 鮮于
Shim 심, 沈 Korean
Alternate transcription of Sim.
Shin 신, 申 Korean
Korean form of Shen, from Sino-Korean 申 (sin).
Sim 沈, 심 Chinese (Hokkien), Korean
Hokkien romanization of Shen as well as the Korean form.
Sin 신, 申 Korean
Variant romanization of Shin.
So Korean
Although there are two Chinese characters for the So surname, one of these is extremely rare and can be discounted (there are only about two hundred people in Korea who use this rare character). Some records indicate that the more common character for So has as many as 165 clans, but only eleven of them can be documented... [more]
Sonh 솒, 손 Korean
솒 derives from 孫, 損, 蓀, 遜
Suh Korean
South Korean variant of So.
Sun Korean
It’s a feminine & Masculine Korean name
Sur Korean (Rare)
A variant of (see So).
Tongbang 동방, 東方 Korean (Rare)
Korean form of Dongfang from Sino-Korean 東方 (tongbang).
Tso Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Cho used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
Tsoi Korean (Russified)
Alternate transcription of Tsoy.
Tsoy Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Choi used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
Tsun Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Chun used by ethnic Koreans living in former Soviet territories.
Um Korean
Transliteration of the Korean reading of hanja 嚴 from Chinese meaning “stern”
Wie Korean
Means “top” in Korean. Most known for Korean American golfer Michelle Wie West
Woo Korean
Woo is a spelling variant of ‘Wu’ referring to an ancient state of ‘Wu’. It is located in the Jiangsu province.
Yang 양, 梁 Korean
Korean form of Liang, from Sino-Korean 梁 (yang).
Yeong 영, 楊 Korean
Korean form of Yang, from Sino-Korean 楊 (yeong) meaning "willow".
Yong 용, 龍 Korean
Korean form of Long from Sino-Korean 龍 (yong).
Yoo 유, 劉 Korean
Alternate transcription of Yu.
Yu 유, 劉 Korean
Korean form of Liu, from Sino-Korean 劉 (yu).