![]() Why Korean Names in English Are Confusing You will definitely see variations on how Korean names are spelled in Romanized Korean, but that’s how it’s done according to the Romanization rules. Put them together, and you’ve got “Yun MinJi.” Let’s Romanize the name “윤민지” using the rules above. If you use these rules, you’ll reduce your chances of confusion.īelow are the consonants included in the Korean alphabet: If you need to convert a name from Hangeul to English letters, your best bet is to follow the standard Romanization of the Korean System. The next section below will show you how to change South Korean names to English letters. You can also estimate their pronunciation by writing them out in English. It takes about 1 hour, and you will be able to pronounce names in Korean correctly. If you’re not used to pronouncing Korean names it’s best to brush up on that before diving in with a name of your own! And that means learning to read the Korean alphabet. Hanja adds an additional aspect to the meaning behind a name in Korean. You can see this in Sino-Korean names such as Eun (은 | 恩 = kind) or Hyeon (현 | 賢 = virtuous). Hanja is the word used to describe a Chinese character in Korean and is an important part of the language. However, this isn’t practiced as much in modern Korean names.įor example, it’s popular for parents in South Korea to name their kids with the same first syllable if the genders are the same, i.e., 지우 (Ji-woo) and 지훈 (Ji-hoon), 유진 (Yu-jin) and 유림 (Yu-rim) Korean Hanja NamesĪlmost all names have a Hanja spelling. However, it’s possible and quite common for South Korean parents or a South Korean family to have a generational name.īasically, a generational name syllable means a single Korean character with an individually distinct syllable (Hangul or Hanja characters) shared within the family. In South Korean culture, the same name (Korean given name) is usually not passed down from generation to generation (i.e., from father to son, mother to daughter). Some other common South Korean last names are 김, 박, 정, 윤, 문, 이, 최, and 강. The most common Korean surnames 김 (Kim), 최 (Choi), 이 (Lee), 박 (Park) make up over half of all last names in Korea. There are about 250 last names in South Korea. ![]() So the first character you see is the family name. In the culture of South Korea, it’s proper for the Korean family name to be written first. Some examples are 사공 (Sa-gong) and 남궁 (Nam-gung) However, sometimes there are two-syllable last names, but they are rare. South Korean last names usually have a single syllable. Although some will be more common than others, you’ll constantly run into new ones you’ve never heard of! Korean Last Names There will be many different Korean first name combinations. These are infrequent in South Korea, though. For example, you may see one-syllable names like 박 (Park) and three-syllable names, like 빛나리 (Bit-nari). It can be written on its own or after the family name.Īlthough the first names (given name) of Koreans are typically two phonetic units, it is possible to have single-syllable names in Korean. 민수 takes the second and third unit places and is the person’s given name.김 is the first unit and also the person’s family name.They’re made up of the last name and the first name with two syllables. ![]() Korean names usually consist of three phonetic units or syllables. The name above is 김 민수 (Kim Min-su) with 김 (Kim) as the last name and 민수 (Min-su) as the given name. It’ll make it much easier for your Korean friends and acquaintances that way. You should try to stick with a three-syllable name as well when coming up with a name in Korean for yourself. However, the large majority of names have three. There are some names with more than three syllables and some names with less than three syllables. Do any of these popular Korean individuals ring a bell?Īs you can see, most names in Korean have three syllables. Maybe you have a favorite K-pop star, K-drama character, Korean movie character, or Korean athlete. The family doesn’t necessarily choose a name because it’s popular but they will often choose one that means something in Korean. With a child’s future on the line, it’s important to come up with a good name in Korean. These names are called Sino-Korean, but more on that later. They believe that names can determine their destiny.Īlmost all names in Korean have a deeper meaning through Hanja (Chinese characters). It’s not just about choosing a Korean baby names that will make their child popular. Many parents in South Korea will spend a lot of time and money to come up with the perfect name for baby girls and baby boys. What’s in a name? Well, in Korea - a name can mean quite a bit, actually! Get “Korean Names” Free PDF Guide All About Korean Names
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