Korean names
Korean given names are often two syllables chosen together for their combined meaning, like Ji-woo (wisdom and universe) or Min-jun (quick and handsome), a small poem parents write once and a child carries forever. Many families also select a hanja meaning to record alongside the sound, giving each name a layered depth.
Areum beauty (pure Korean word-name)
Baek-hyun clear wisdom (worn by EXO's Baekhyun)
Bomi spring beauty
Chae-won colorful garden
Chaeyoung colorful talent (worn by TWICE and BLACKPINK members)
Chan-yeol brilliant and passionate (worn by EXO's Chanyeol)
Chul-soo firm and excellent in common hanja readings. The textbook everyboy of mid-century Korea, paired with Young-hee in school primers for decades and now firmly a grandfather-generation name; the -soo ending dates its bearers as precisely as -jun dates today's boys.
Da-eun virtue and grace
Dain many plus benevolence in one common hanja combination; hanja vary
Do-hyun the way of wisdom
Do-yun the way, allowed
Eun-hye grace (the everyday Korean word for grace and divine favor). A first pick in Korean Christian families because the meaning sits right on the surface, and the natural Korean partner to the English name Grace in the church dual-name tradition.
Eun-ji grace and wisdom
Eun-woo grace and greatness (worn by actor Cha Eun-woo, unisex)
Eunbi grace and secret radiance
Ha-eun grace and generosity
Ha-jun great talent
Ha-rin a modern pairing of ha, great or summer, with the fashionable rin ending
Ha-yoon summer and abundance in common hanja readings. One of the top girls' names of 2020s Korea and the face of the ha- generation alongside Ha-eun and Ha-rin; the open ha- start and soft ending survive English pronunciation intact, so families rarely bother assigning an English nickname.
Haeun summer and kindness in common hanja
Hana one, or grace (written with hanja for flower/grace)
Haneul sky (pure Korean word-name, unisex)
Hayoon Ha-yoon written solid, as American records have it: summer and abundance in common hanja readings
Ho-seok great fortune (BTS J-Hope's birth name)
Hye-jin wise and precious in common hanja
Hyun-jin virtuous and precious in common hanja (borne by MLB pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin)
Hyun-woo wise greatness
Jae-hyun talented wisdom
Jaewon meaning depends on the hanja chosen for each syllable; a modern Korean given name
Ji-ah wisdom and elegance in common hanja
Ji-eun wisdom and grace in common hanja. Birth name of the singer IU (Lee Ji-eun) and a staple of the ji- generation born in the 1980s and 90s, the cohort now giving its own daughters newer ji- names like Ji-ah and Ji-woo.
Ji-ho wisdom and greatness
Ji-hwan wisdom and brightness in common hanja
Ji-hye wisdom (also the everyday Korean word for wisdom). The signature girls' name of Korea's 1980s and 90s birth cohorts, roughly what Jessica is to Americans of the same age, and the fuller form the ji- wave later shortened into names like Ji-ah and Ji-woo.
Ji-min wisdom and quickness (unisex, worn by BTS's Jimin)
Ji-sung wisdom and sincerity in common hanja (borne by soccer great Park Ji-sung)
Ji-woo wisdom and universe (unisex)
Ji-yeon wisdom and beauty in common hanja
Jiah wisdom or ambition joined with elegant, beautiful hanja
Jieun Ji-eun written solid, as American records have it: wisdom and grace in common hanja; the birth name of the singer IU
Jihoon wisdom and merit in common hanja readings. Usually romanized solid as Jihoon rather than Ji-hoon in the US, and a flagship of the ji- pattern that has led Korean boys' naming since the 2000s; the strong two-beat sound reads cleanly to English speakers with no nickname needed.
Jihyun wisdom and virtue in common hanja
Jimin Ji-min written solid, as American birth certificates have it: wisdom and quickness in common hanja; the spelling BTS's Jimin carries
Jinwoo precious and universe, or friend, in common hanja
Jisoo wisdom and longevity (worn by BLACKPINK's Jisoo)
Jiwoo ambition and universe, or rain, in common hanja
Jiyoung wisdom and glory, or flower, in common hanja
Jiyu wisdom and abundance in one common hanja combination; hanja vary
Joon-ho talented and good (worn by director Bong Joon-ho)
Joon-young talented and flourishing
Ju-won pillar and source in common hanja
Jungkook righteous nation (worn by BTS's Jungkook)
Kang-in strong and benevolent
Kwang light, shine; the kwang of names like Kwang-soo
Kyung respect, scenery or capital city, depending on the hanja; usually a name element
Kyung-soo bright excellence (worn by EXO's D.O.)
Mi-rae future
Min-ho clever and good (worn by actor Lee Min-ho)
Min-ji quick wisdom
Min-jun clever and talented (Korea's most popular boy name for years)
Min-seo clever and auspicious in common hanja
Min-soo clever and excellent in common hanja. The everyman boys' name of Korea's 1970s and 80s cohorts and the first mass generation of the min- pattern; so common in its day that Korean textbook examples and skits reach for Min-soo the way American ones reach for John.
Minho clever and great, or bright, in common hanja
Minjae jade with hanja for existing or ruling
Minseo Min-seo written solid, as American records have it: clever and auspicious in common hanja
Minwoo meaning depends on the hanja chosen for each syllable; a modern Korean given name
Myung bright, light and clear; more often a name element than a standalone name
Na-eun my grace
Nam-joon southern talent (BTS RM's birth name)
Ra-on joyful (a revived old Korean word, given to boys and girls)
Sarang love (the everyday Korean word, used as a pure Korean word name; carries hymn-book warmth in church families)
Sehun power and merit (worn by EXO's Sehun)
Sena power and grace
Seo-ah auspicious and elegant in common hanja. A top-five girls' pick of 2020s Korea that joins the fashionable seo- pattern of Seo-yeon and Seo-jun to a vowel ending Americans get right on the first try.
Seo-jun auspicious talent
Seo-yeon auspicious and beautiful
Seo-yun auspicious permission
Seok-jin stone and truth (BTS Jin's birth name)
Si-eun poetic grace in common hanja
Si-on Zion (Korean rendering of the biblical place name, a modern favorite in Korean Christian families)
Si-woo poetic spirit
Somi small beauty (worn by singer Jeon Somi)
Somin bright or luminous plus heaven in one common hanja combination; hanja vary
Soo meaning differs with the hanja; 91 hanja that read su may be registered for names
Soo-ah elegant child
Soo-jin excellence and truth
Soojin long life and precious in common hanja; a spelling of Su-jin
Sook a single-syllable given name and an element of many two-syllable names; the hanja sets the meaning
Soon pure in one common hanja; in Korea usually an element, as in Soon-hee
Sooyoung long life or excellence plus flower or glory in common hanja combinations; hanja vary
Subin outstanding and refined in common hanja
Suji elegance (worn by actress Bae Suzy)
Sujin long life and precious, or genuine, in common hanja
Sumin meaning depends on the hanja chosen; also spelled Soo-min
Sun-woo virtuous and outstanding in common hanja
Sung success and completion; usually one half of a two-syllable name
Sung-min sincere and clever
Sunwoo Sun-woo written solid, as American records have it: virtuous and outstanding in common hanja
Tae great; in Korea usually a first syllable, as in Tae-yang, rather than a full name
Tae-hyung great brightness (BTS V's birth name)
Tae-oh great and enlightened in common hanja. A fast riser among 2020s Korean boys largely because it doubles as Teo, sliding straight into the international Leo and Theo wave with no English middle name doing the work.
Tae-yang sun (worn by singer Taeyang of BIGBANG)
Taeyang Tae-yang written solid, as American records have it: sun; worn by singer Taeyang of BIGBANG
Wonyoung source of prosperity (worn by IVE's Jang Wonyoung)
Woo-jin great truth
Woo-joo universe (the everyday Korean word for cosmos, unisex)
Ye-eun lovely grace in common hanja readings
Ye-jin beautiful truth
Ye-jun talented and handsome in common hanja. Traded Korea's number one boys' spot with Min-jun and Seo-jun through the 2010s, so a Ye-jun in an American classroom today is as precise a cohort marker as a Min-jun a decade older.
Yeon-woo commonly glossed as lotus and rain (unisex)
Yerin beautiful and wise
Yohan God is gracious (Korean rendering of John, via Johannes). A Korean church favorite because it needs no translation in either direction, Yohan at Korean service and instantly legible as John's kin everywhere else; the rare heritage pick that is also a baptismal name.
Yoon-gi allowing brightness (BTS Suga's birth name)
Yoon-seo shining and auspicious
Yoonseo Yoon-seo written solid, as American records have it: shining and auspicious
Young-hee flourishing joy in common hanja. The textbook everygirl of mid-century Korea, printed beside Chul-soo in decades of school primers and known worldwide since the Squid Game doll; the -hee ending marks the grandmother generation as clearly as -ah and -eun mark today's girls.
Yu-jun flowing talent
Yubin meaning depends on the hanja chosen; also spelled Yoo-bin
Yujin abundant and precious in common hanja
Yul principle or rhythm in common hanja; a fashionable single-syllable pick of the 2020s
Yuna tender wisdom (worn by figure skater Kim Yuna)
Which of these fits YOUR family? →