Korean American baby names

Handpicked for families who want names with roots: the beloved classics, what parents in the culture choose today, and the cool discoveries most US name sites never surface.

Aaron high mountain; exalted

Amy beloved

Andrew manly, brave

Anthony priceless, of inestimable worth

Areum beauty (a pure native-Korean word name — a popular identity-marker choice among diaspora parents wanting a name with no hanja spelling)

Bora purple (a native Korean color word, chosen for the same non-hanja, distinctly-Korean identity reason as Areum)

Brian noble, strong

Caleb whole-hearted, faithful

Christina follower of Christ

Christopher bearer of Christ

Cindy from Mount Cynthus (short form of Cynthia, a common Korean American English name)

Daniel God is my judge (one of the most common Korean American church names for boys)

David beloved

Dong-hyun eastern virtue (a grandparent-generation name, now more common as a middle name)

Esther star; heroine of the Book of Esther (a staple baptismal/English name in Korean American churches)

Eugene well-born (widely adopted as the English name for Korean men named Yoo-jin, since it echoes the sound closely — a well-documented dual-name crossover pick)

Eunji grace, kindness, and wisdom (a common home name frequently paired with the English name Grace in the classic Korean American dual-name pattern)

Faith faith, trust

Grace grace, favor (the single most common English name Korean American parents pair with a Korean home name, as in Grace Eunji Kim)

Haneul sky (a native Korean word name, unisex and hanja-free)

Hannah favor, grace (a Korean American church favorite; the palindrome spelling also reads cleanly to Korean speakers)

Hyun virtuous, wise (short and often kept as-is rather than anglicized)

Irene peace (a long-time favorite Korean American English name, also used as a stage name by Korean celebrities for its easy crossover sound)

Isaac he will laugh

Jason healer (also a Greek mythological hero)

Jenny fair one (short form of Jennifer, a common Korean American English name)

Jia add elegance, add beauty

Jiho wisdom and vastness

Jihoon wisdom and brightness

John God is gracious

Joon handsome and talented (a native Korean given name increasingly used as the sole legal American first name for second-generation sons)

Joseph he will add

Joshua God is salvation

Joy joy, happiness (a favorite English half of the Korean American dual-name pair)

Julie youthful

Justin just, fair

Kevin handsome, beloved (an extremely common Korean American English name for men)

Matthew gift of God

Michelle who is like God

Minji quick-witted and wise

Minjun quick-witted and handsome

Naomi pleasantness

Nari lily (a native Korean word, not a Sino-Korean/hanja name)

Nathan he gave

Paul small, humble

Peter rock

Rebecca to bind, tie

Ruth companion, friend

Samuel God has heard

Sarah princess

Siwoo poem and rain (a lyrical modern name combo)

Soo-jin excellent and precious

Stephanie crown

Steven crown

Sun-hee virtuous and joyful (a grandparent-generation name, still given as a middle name to honor an elder)

Sunny bright, sunny (an English nickname Korean Americans commonly adopt for names beginning with "Sun-," such as Sun-hwa or Sun-kyu)

Suzy outstanding and wise (Romanized as Suzy, a spelling that doubles as the familiar English nickname Susie)

Timothy honoring God

Woojin great and precious

Ye-jin beautiful truth

Yeji propriety and wisdom

Yuna kind and graceful (boosted in the diaspora by Olympic figure skater Kim Yuna; increasingly given as the sole legal American name for second-generation daughters)

Which of these fits YOUR family? →