Family Names

There are about 300 Korean family names. Many family names can be broken down into multiple clans (BoGuan). Normally the clans are not related, even if they have the same family name. Traditionally, people from the same clan cannot marry. Specifying clans is necessary when referring to family registries and genealogies, but generally clans aren’t added to names for other purposes. The word “Shi” (씨, meaning Mr., Mrs., or family) is often placed as after the family name or full name.

The following table lists Korean family names. Note that there are many additional possible English spellings for the names. A good source of alternate popular English spellings of Korean family names is: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Korean_surnames
Table 2.2  Korean Family Names (HanJa, HanGul, and English)

賈

가

Ga

簡

간

Gan

葛

갈

Gal

甘

감

Gam

剛

강

Gang

姜

강

Gang

康

강

Gang

疆

강

Gang

強

강

Gang

岡田

강전

GangJeon

綱切

강절

GangJeol

介

개

Gae

甄

견

Gyeon

堅

견

Gyeon

慶

경

Gyeong

景

경

Gyeong

京

경

Gyeong

桂

계

Gyae

高

고

Go

曲

곡

Gok

孔

공

Gong

公

공

Gong

郭

곽

Gwak

橋

교

Gyo

具

구

Gu

丘

구

Gu

邱

구

Gu

鞠

국

Guk

國

국

Guk

菊

국

Guk

君

군

Gun

弓

궁

Gung

鴌

궉

Gweok

權

권

Gweon

斤

근

Geun

琴

금

Geum

奇

기

Gi

箕

기

Gi

吉

길

Gil

金

김

Kim

羅

나

Na

欒

난

Nan

南

남

Nam

南宮

남궁

NamGung

浪

낭

Nang

乃

내

Nae

奈

내

Nae

盧

노

No

魯

노

No

盧

노

No

路

노

No

雷

뇌

Nwe

賴

뇌

Nwe

樓

누

Nu

段

단

Dan

單

단

Dan

端

단

Dan

譚

담

Dam

唐

당

Dang

大

대

Dae

都

도

Do

陶

도

Do

道

도

Do

獨孤

독고

DokGo

頓

돈

Don

敦

돈

Don

董

동

Dong

東方

동방

DongBang

杜

두

Du

頭

두

Du

羅

라

Ra

梁

량

Ryang

樑

량

Ryang

柳

류

Ryu

李

리

Lee

林

림

Rim

馬

마

Ma

麻

마

Ma

萬

만

Man

網切

망절

MangJeol

梅

매

Mae

孟

맹

Maeng

明

명

Myeong

牟

모

Mo

毛

모

Mo

睦

목

Mok

苗

묘

Myo

墨

묵

Muk

文

문

Moon

門

문

Moon

米

미

Mi

閔

민

Min

朴

박

Pak

潘

반

Ban

班

반

Ban

方

방

Bang

房

방

Bang

邦

방

Bang

龐

방

Bang

裵

배

Bae

白

백

Baek

范

범

Beom

凡

범

Beom

卞

변

Byeon

邊

변

Byeon

卜

복

Bok

奉

봉

Bong

鳳

봉

Bong

夫

부

Bu

傅

부

Bu

丕

비

Pe

賓

빈

Pen

彬

빈

Pen

冰

빙

Peng

氷

빙

Peng

史

사

Sa

謝

사

Sa

舍

사

Sa

司空

사공

SaGong

森

삼

Sam

杉

삼

Sam

尙

상

Sang

徐

서

Seo

西

서

Seo

西門

서문

SeoMun

石

석

Seok

昔

석

Seok

宣

선

Seon

鮮于

선우

SeonU

卨

설

Seol

薛

설

Seol

偰

설

Seol

葉

섭

Seop

成

성

Seong

星

성

Seong

蘇

소

So

邵

소

So

肖

소

So

召

소

So

素

소

So

逍

소

So

小峰

소봉

SoBong

孫

손

Son

宋

송

Song

松

송

Song

水

수

Su

洙

수

Su

荀

순

Sun

淳

순

Sun

舜

순

Sun

順

순

Sun

承

승

Seung

昇

승

Seung

施

시

Shi

柴

시

Shi

申

신

Shin

辛

신

Shin

愼

신

Shin

沈

심

Shim

辻

십

Ship

阿

아

A

安

안

An

艾

애

Ae

夜

야

Ya

梁

양

Yang

楊

양

Yang

樑

양

Yang

襄

양

Yang

魚

어

Eo

魚金

어금

EoGeum

嚴

엄

Eum

呂

여

Yeo

余

여

Yeo

汝

여

Yeo

延

연

Yeon

燕

연

Yeon

連

연

Yeon

廉

염

Yeom

葉

엽

Yeop

永

영

Yeong

榮

영

Yeong

影

영

Yeong

芮

예

Yae

吳

오

O

伍

오

O

玉

옥

Ok

溫

온

On

邕

옹

Ong

雍

옹

Ong

王

왕

Wang

姚

요

Yo

龍

용

Yong

禹

우

U

于

우

U

宇

우

U

雲

운

Un

芸

운

Un

元

원

Won

袁

원

Won

苑

원

Won

魏

위

We

韋

위

We

柳

유

Yu

劉

유

Yu

兪

유

Yu

庾

유

Yu

陸

육

Yuk

尹

윤

Yun

殷

은

Eun

恩

은

Eun

陰

음

Eum

李

이

Lee

異

이

Lee

伊

이

Lee

印

인

In

林

임

Im

任

임

Im

慈

자

Ja

張

장

Jang

蔣

장

Jang

章

장

Jang

莊

장

Jang

長谷

장곡

JangGok

邸

저

Jeo

全

전

Jeon

田

전

Jeon

錢

전

Jeon

占

점

Jeom

鄭

정

Jeong

丁

정

Jeong

程

정

Jeong

諸

제

Jae

齊

제

Jae

諸葛

제갈

JaeGal

趙

조

Jo

曺

조

Jo

鍾

종

Jong

宗

종

Jong

左

좌

Jwa

周

주

Ju

朱

주

Ju

俊

준

Jun

辻

즙

Jeup

曾

증

Jeung

增

증

Jeung

池

지

Ji

智

지

Ji

陳

진

Jin

秦

진

Jin

晋

진

Jin

眞

진

Jin

車

차

Cha

昌

창

Chang

倉

창

Chang

蔡

채

Chae

菜

채

Chae

采

채

Chae

千

천

Cheon

天

천

Cheon

楚

초

Cho

肖

초

Cho

初

초

Cho

崔

최

Choi

秋

추

Chu

鄒

추

Chu

椿

춘

Chun

卓

탁

Tak

彈

탁

Tak

太

태

Tae

判

판

Pan

彭

팽

Paeng

片

편

Pyeon

扁

편

Pyeon

平

평

Pyeong

包

포

Po

表

표

Pyo

馮

풍

Pung

皮

피

Pe

弼

필

Pel

河

하

Ha

夏

하

Ha

郝

학

Hak

韓

한

Han

漢

한

Han

咸

함

Ham

海

해

Hae

許

허

Heo

玄

현

Hyeon

邢

형

Heong

扈

호

Ho

胡

호

Ho

鎬

호

Ho

洪

홍

Hong

化

화

Hwa

桓

환

Hwan

黃

황

Hwang

皇甫

황보

HwangBo

侯

후

Hu

后

후

Hu

興

흥

Heung

36 thoughts on “Family Names”

  1. Am interested in procedure for researching ancesters of an South Korea adopted child.
    Thank you. (Denver, CO., US)

    Reply ↓

  2. How can I get this chart in a larger size? I am wanting to get some tattoos of my children’s names.

    Reply ↓

    • You can copy & paste it into MS Word or something like that then change the font size if you want to print it larger.

      Reply ↓

  3. Hi,
    I’m an American born Korean. My name Kim Jae Kwon (David Young Kim) my fathers name is Kim Young Kyou. I’m headed to Korea on this journey to find my roots and I happed upon this website. First off, I’m extremely grateful for that work you did to make this incredible resource available. I haven’t had a chance to thoroughly go through the website as I leave tomorrow. But I was wondering if I wanted to find the geneaology of that side of my family while in Korea where would you suggest I go? And who should I talk to. Ideally I would like to come home with a jokbo. Kim being the most common last name how would I find my specific clan? I’m not really getting much help from my family, so I’m pretty much on my own in doing this.

    Thanks,
    Dave

    P.S. Here’s the project I’m working on while there: http://iamkoream.com/korean-american-artists-explore-their-native-culture-in-interlaced/

    Reply ↓

    • all depends on which one your family goes by.I recommend asking some of the older family members who might have an idea

      Reply ↓

  5. hey.tnx for ur gr8 information
    i’m not korean but i heart that korean names has been made from our birth date (is that right?)
    if it is i wanna know how can make my name
    could u plz give me more information about this?
    thanks a lot

    Reply ↓

    • Often one syllable of the given name is taken from a “HangRyeolPyo” table that assigns a different HanJa character to each generation… That creates an almost poetic harmony and balance in the family JokBo record with patterns in the names, and each generation shares a common syllable in their name. Not everyone follows this, but a lot of people do. The other syllable is often selected by a traditional Korean “shaman” who uses astrology to pick the other HanJa syllable of the given name. They pick a syllable best suited for that child to bring them blessings in their life, or something along those lines. Another method is to have the grandparents choose the other syllable.

      http://www.quora.com/How-do-Korean-parents-pick-baby-names-in-Korean

      Reply ↓

  6. Umm what does “Jang” and “Ban” mean.I’m not Korean but I was given this name, Ban being my first name and Jang my last name. Which is my Grandfather’s last name, and on my mom side. I know it’s weird that my name is both a Korean last name..but I wanna kno the meaning of them.thank you!

    -Ban

    Reply ↓

  7. Hi am trying to find out routes of my grandmother, whose father moved from Korea to Russia’s far east in early 1900s due to Japanase colonization.
    My grandmonther’s last name is Son, and Poy – Joseon/Yoson/Joson — would you be able to suggest where to start?
    Thank you so much!!!

    Reply ↓

  8. Hello! I am of mixed Korean and Japanese heritage, but I only have (or at least only know) my Korean name, Eun Ah. Is there a way to write it in hanja so that it would translate into a Japanese name as well?

    Reply ↓

    • Sorry, I meant to post that on the given names thread; but any replies are still very much wanted!

      Reply ↓

  10. Seung Eun Soo

    what are you think about this name, are they a good name and if you know the meaning please reply and tell me and if the name is not suitable you also can share youre idea to me plezz tell me about it..

    Reply ↓

  11. Need to know more about my family last name Gil please ?..

    I want to know more about my family last name history please ?

    Reply ↓

  12. I’m born Korean . My last name is Gil ( Kil ) want to know more about Gil family history please ..?..

    Reply ↓

  13. Hi, my mother (Korean) passed a long time ago and my father never liked talking about her. He recently passed and I found her family registry. My mothers last name was Pak, and I have no idea of where to start. I cant find anything on my own..

    Reply ↓

  17. Hi I am not korean but I really like to learn about korean history.
    I just read an article written that now in Korea is possible to get married even to a person which has the same family name (e.g lee and lee)
    Is that true? what are the requirements regarding to that case? Do we have to do cross check with our ancestors?
    Do you have any solid information about this case?
    I really appreciate all your help.

    Thanks

    Reply ↓

    • You can have the same family name (like Lee) but come from very different clans where your closest relation (if any) within the Lee line is so ancient that its safe to say you are not close relatives. My understanding is that you can check back some number of generations (10, 16?) and then get cleared, but I don’t know for sure.

      Reply ↓

  18. I am from japan basically but have to learn korean language because of some korean clients. Please tell me any tutorial sites or any websites that provide complete knowledge about korean language. Any korean name or word website suggestions are also welcomed!! I can understand few word but not all. That’s why need help!!

    Reply ↓

  19. Hi I am Korean born adopted into an Australian family my birth name was Jong kyeong Ran my biological father was a soldier and my birth mother was divorced with 3 older children before she knew about me my father left her and she could not look after us all so I was the one to go. Can you please tell me what my name means? As it was my biological father’s last name. Thank you.

    Reply ↓

  21. My grandfather’s death certificate says his name is Soon Myung Lee, his race Korean, father’s name Lee, mother’s name unknown. On US census records his name is spelled as: Soong Lee, Song Lee, Soon Lee – born Korea. Would Lee be his family name?

    Reply ↓

  22. Hi another adoptee here. My biological mothers name was Lee Hee Myung. Mine was Lee Hee Kyung. From what I read above Lee is most common last name. Hee is a generational name. Am I correct in that? Also, how do I search further on the history or lineage of Lee Hee Myung?

    Reply ↓

  23. Hi, I was adopted into a USA family in 1956 from an orphanage. My father and mother are both unknown, but my father was a black serviceman. My adoption paper says my Korean name is Keel Soo Song. Unknown if this name was given to me by the orphanage or my mother or if it is spelled correctly. Any insight?

    Reply ↓

    • I’m by no means an expert, but I’ve been studying the language for a few years. I think it’s 길수성.

      I think your last name is spelled Gil. Song could be Seong or Sung. (Soo could also be spelled Su.)

      I hope you find more information about your family.

      Reply ↓

  24. I am trying to locate any relatives of my Korean mother. She left Korea in the 1950’s and went to Japan where she met and. married my dad who was in the Army in 1959 . I have a list of names for her brothers and sisters (family name Rim) but I don’t know where to begin. Can anyone help?

    Reply ↓

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