Do you love everything Korean? Korean fashion, art, music, TV shows, movies, and pop idols? Are you having trouble naming your baby? Well, here’s a solution: why not give Korean names a chance and give one to your baby?
Korea has a complex and rich history, and a diverse heritage. There’s a certain uniqueness in Korean names that you can find nowhere else. This diversity is tempered by an odd commonness in surnames. Did you know that there are three surnames that are used by over half of the whole Korean population, both North and South? These are Park, Lee, and Kim.
Of course, if you’re going to name your baby, you’ll most probably pick the unique ones. Here’s what you need to know if you want to get into Korean naming conventions.
Most Korean names consist of two syllables.
Korean names are composed of a family name, followed by a given name.
Korean first names are based on Hangul, which is an alphabetical script, and Hanja, which are logo-syllabic characters. Hanja are Chinese characters and Hangul are Korean native alphabets.
For many years, it has been the tradition for Korean parents to select a name from a (presumably long) list of names approved and issued by the government. Of course, the trend has now fallen out of favor. More and more parents in Korea nowadays are choosing names derived from traditional Korean words. For example, baby girls are usually given two-syllable names, compared to male babies who usually have one-syllable names.
In Korean culture, given names are not used in daily life, so people usually call each other by their surnames when they’re not close, like in Japan. The given names are usually used in private or by close friends and family.
Korean names for your little bundle of joy!
| Girls |
Hangul |
Boys |
Hangul |
| ji su |
지수 |
jin soo |
진수 |
| ji hee |
지희 |
min jun |
민준 |
| jae eun |
재은 |
se jun |
세준 |
| mi na |
미나 |
sung min |
성민 |
| yu na |
유나 |
ji hun |
지훈 |
| a ra |
아라 |
ji sung |
지성 |
| ji yeon |
지연 |
young jin |
영진 |
| ye seul |
예슬 |
dong woo |
동우 |
| soo jung |
수정 |
heon woo |
현우 |
| mi jin |
미진 |
jung wook |
정욱 |
| eun ha |
은하 |
la on |
라온 |
| mi sun |
미선 |
jin woo |
진우 |
| ha na |
하나 |
gun ho |
건호 |
| soo mi |
수미 |
tae min |
태민 |
| yeon a |
연아 |
jun ho |
준호 |
Popular Korean names from 2016-2017
If you want to use popular Korean names from the last two years, you can choose names from this list.
Top 10 Male Baby Names in 2016 (left) / 2017 (right)
1. Min Jun / Do Yoon
2. Seo Jun / Ha Jun
3. Ha Jun / Seo Jun
4. Do Yoon / Si Woo
5. Joo Won / Min Jun
6. Ye Jun / Ye Jun
6. Si Woo / 7. Joo Won
8. Ji Ho / Yoo Jun
9. Jun Woo / Ji Ho
10. Yoo Jun / Jun Woo
Top 10 Female Baby Names in 2016 (left) / 2017 (right)
1. Seo Yoon / Ha Yoon
2. Seo Yeon / Seo Yoon
3. Ha Yoon / Seo Yeon
4. Ji Yoo / Ha Eun
5. Ji Woo / Ji Yoo
6. Ha Eun / Ji Woo
7. Ji Ah / Su Ah
8. Su Ah / Ha Rin
9. Seo Hyun / Ji Ah
10. Ha Rin / Seo Ah
Sources: Baby Names, Mom Junction, All Kpop
YOU CAN ALSO READ: Soon-to-be moms and dads: Here are the top baby girl names so far this 2017!
