In South Korea, last names are typically based on Chinese characters and are passed down matrilineally, meaning they are passed down from father to child. Some of the most common last names in South Korea include Kim, Lee, and Park, which make up more than half of the population.
It is found through a survey that the most common last name in South Korea is ‘Kim.’ According to a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language, based on 2015 data, nearly 22% of the population in South Korea has the last name Kim.
This is because the name is derived from the Chinese character “金” (jin), which means “gold” or “metal.” It’s also used in other words like “Kimchi” and “King.”
Let’s check out some South Korean last names:
Contents
What are some Cool South Korean last names?
The second most common last name in South Korea is Lee (also called Yi, Rhee, or Ree). This last name is derived from the Chinese character “李” (li), which means “plum” or “plum tree.” According to the study, about 15% of the population in South Korea has the last name Lee. Here is a list of some cool South Korean Last Names.
Yoo : “Right”
Seong : “Success” Or “Completion”
Jeon : “Field” Or “Farm”
Yoon : “Govern” Or “Rule”
Jung : “County” Or “District”
Moon : “Literature” Or “Culture”
Jeong : “Nation” Or “Government”
Bae : “Help” Or “Assist”
Kwon : “Power” Or “Right”
Jo : “Nation” Or “State”
Dang
Jae-yong
Gyeong
Dae-won
Sang-won
Yong-joon
Sung-yong
Boram
Sun
Chang-hoon
Kyung-chul
Dong-min
Sang-chul
Tae-joon
Powerful
Yeong
Jun-ho
Kwang-sik
Ok
Young-hoon
Seo-yun
Rim
Ji-yoon
Ki-ha
Yeon
Hwan
Ki-moon
Dong-gun
Pai
Kwan
Bong
Wang
Biblical
Sung-won
Seong-hoon
Ji-soo
Ye-rim
Yong-ho
Nari
Chae-yeong
Jooheon
Yeon-seok
Young-sik
Hye-seong
Jeong-ho
Cute
Bora
Kyung-soo
Gyeong-wan
Jin-sun
Sung-woo
Pak
Won-sul
Jeong-suk
Seo-yeon
Myeong
Seung-jae
Dong-wook
Pan
Ji-hu
Lin
Daejeon
Hyun-seung
Gyeong-tae
Mong
Dong-soo
Jae-seop
Ho
Su-bin
Ulson
Tan
Young-jae
Ji-tae
Kwang-hyun
Jong
Chul-woo
Pretty
Noe
Jun-sang
Hae-il
Bin
Cool
Ryu
Eun-seong
Chang-ho
Won
Yo-han
Ji-hun
French
Kyung-gu
Fun fact:”Kyung-gu” means “respectful country” in South Korea.
What are some Catchy South Korean Last names?
The third most common last name in South Korea is Park (also spelt Pak or Bak). This last name is derived from the Chinese character “朴” (bak or pak), which means “plain” or “unadorned.”
According to the study, about 8% of the population in South Korea has the last name Park. Here is a list of some catchy South Korean Last Names.
Lee : “Plum” Or “Plum tree”
Chang : “To stretch” Or “To expand”
Go : “Local” Or “Place”
Cho : “Large” Or “Great”
Son : “Grandson” Or “Descendant”
Dong : “East”
Gim : “Gold” Or “Metal”
Park : “Plain” Or “Unadorned”
Hwang : “Yellow”
Ma : “Horse”
Tae-soo
Myung-hwan
Chan-young
Dong-suk
Woo-jin
Dong-il
Sung-chul
Jae-geun
Seo-hyun
Kwang-su
Yee
Unique
Chung
Om
Han-jae
Sa
Young-hee
Myung
Goo
Im/lim
Joh
Gyeon
Yesung
Gal
Chi-won
Yoo-jung
Hoon
Il
Gyeong-suk
Gun
Beom-seok
Ra
Jae
Pung
Ju
Im
Joo-hwan
Jong-yul
Young-gi
Nahm
Gang
Seong-jin
Min-jeong
Han-bin
Dong-won
Suwon
Chin
Moon-sik
Seol
Seung-heon
Bak
Sang-wook
Kwang-seok
Busan
Jae-ho
Woo
Do-won
Joong-ki
Eun-jung
Beautiful
Su-jin
Duri
Yee/yi
Ki
Eun
Suh
Byung-joon
Chang-woo
Sung-bin
Sung-min
Sang-jun
Eun-kyung
Seung-wan
Jung-eun
Nam-kyu
Chew
Eun-jeong
Min-seok
Quon
Jae-bong
Tak
Jeong-myung
Sang-hyun
Seung-chul
Kyung-hwan
Ma-ri
Mi-suk
Jung-hyun
Yong
Seung-soo
Fun fact: “Seung-soo” means “winning protection” in South Korea.
What are some Best South Korean Last names?
It’s worth mentioning that South Korea also has last names that don’t come from Chinese characters. These are called “bon-gwan” names, which are often indigenous Korean names that are not related to Chinese characters. These names are usually much rarer than the Chinese-derived names. Here is a list of some best South Korean Last Names.
Jang : “To stretch” Or “To expand”
Kang : “Ginger”
Baek : “White”
Hong : “Flood” Or “Vast”
Kwak : “Enclose” Or “Enclosed”
Jang : “Cocoon” Or “Silkworm”
No : “Drum” Or “Musical instrument”
Go : “Tall” Or “High”
Koo : “Hill” Or “Mound”
Seo : “Slow” Or “Gentle”
Top
Tae-wook
Min-hyeok
Young-chul
Da-som
Jae-joon
Kee
Man
Reeh
Kwang-hwan
Iseul
Gan
Jin-hwan
Kwang-seon
Chun
Hyun-woo
Hyuk
Se-yoon
Jong-hyuk
Nam
An
Seong-min
Gwangju
Si-u
Beom-soo
Ki-nam
Mok
Hispanic
Tae-sung
Jeju-do
Seong-il
Yong-nam
Chul
Cheong
Dong-chan
Chul-soon
Jae-hyun
Byung-woo
Ye-eun
Won-chul
Jae-suk
Dan-bi
Kang-min
Jun-seok
Yoon-sung
Hae-won
Mun
Kong
Sin
Chae
Hee-chul
Nam-il
Ji-woon
Mi-gyeong
Yeong-ja
Jung-sik
Nam-gi
Byung-hoon
Eun-sook
Dong-woo
Ki-jung
Sim
Seung-hoon
Hyuk-jae
Ha-joon
Myung-yong
Eun-ji
Jin-kyu
Jue
Roh
Ham
Young-sook
Ho-sung
Hahm
Sun-young
Bon-hwa
Na-moo
Tae-woo
Seul-gi
Won-sik
Dong-geun
Ye-jun
Byung-wook
Jae-jin
Jae-beom
Gyeong-hui
Min-ho
Myung-hoon
Jae-hyuk
Sang-hoon
Fun fact:”Sang-hoon” means “bright and virtuous” in South Korea.
What are some Awesome South Korean Last names?
It’s important to note that as society continues to change, many people in South Korea have begun to adopt new last names or change the spelling of their terms to make them more distinct or personalized.
Additionally, given the tradition of patrilineal surnames, many women tend to adopt their husbands’ last names after marriage, which could affect the statistical representation of specific last terms. Here is a list of some awesome South Korean last names.
Park : “Plain” Or “Unadorned”
Kim : “Gold” Or “Metal”
Choi : “High” Or “Noble”
Son : “Grandson” Or “Descendant”
Oh : “Clan” Or “Family”
Kim : “Gold” Or “Metal”
Yang : “Willow”
Lim : “Forest”
Joo : “Week” Or “Cycle”
Ahn : “Safety” Or “Security”
Moon-soo
Jae-seong
Jun-su
Won-il
Ae-cha
Ho-jin
Sung-ha
Byun
Chan-woo
Kwang-jo
Young-ho
Dong-hyuk
Tae-ho
Kwang-hoon
To
Eun-young
Jae-won
Whang
Paik
Jae-woong
Seung-gi
Jong-soo
Jong-il
You
Na-rae
Daegu
Jae-gyu
Sook-ja
Sung-ho
Choe/choi
Eun-ju
In
Jinhae
Kyung-jae
Ji-hwan
Yu
Kyu-chul
Famous
Ko
Jeong-hun
Geumseong
Hyun-wook
Hyun-joo
Hyun-tae
Chay
Seok-ju
Dam-bi
Nabi
Ho-jun
Gu
Suk-won
Sang
Park/bak
Hyun
Myung-soo
Gwan
Dae-hyun
Yun-seok
Jeong-hui
Min-ki
Jeong-jin
Ji-seok
Ji-eun
Tae-il
Paek
Mu-yeol
Dong-chul
Ye
Byung-ho
Toh
Kwang-min
Dong-ha
Ji-won
Yoong-gun
Do-hun
Goe
Tae
Jeong-mo
Na-ra
Seung-won
Pae
Young-hwan
Kuk
Yun
Joon
Raon
Kwack
Seok
Won-jae
Gae
Fun fact:”Gae” means “tall and respectable” in South Korea.
What are some Amazing South Korean Last names?
In conclusion, the most common last names in South Korea are Kim, Lee, and Park. The surnames are derived from Chinese characters and passed down from father to child. Many other surnames also exist, such as Choi, Kang, and Jeong.
As society changes, many people tend to adopt new last names or change the spelling of their names. Here is a list of some amazing South Korean Last Names.
Song : “Name of a dynasty”
Kim : “Gold” Or “Metal”
Han : “Korea” Or “South korea”
Lee : “Plum” Or “Plum tree”
Jo : “Bright” Or “Shining”
Na : “Gauze” Or “Net”
Shin : “To state” Or “To explain”
Min : “Quick” Or “Smart”
Rhee : “Plum” Or “Plum tree”
Kim : “Gold” Or “Metal”
So
Dong-jun
Kkot-bi
Ha
Seong-hun
Sung-mo
Chong
Ji-woong
Deok-su
Tae-min
Kwang-ho
Hebrew
Sung-ki
Reeh/
Jin
Geun
Kyuhyun
Sung
Yong-gi
Yeong-jun
Min-woo
Ji-min
Ga-ram
Jung-hwa
Gyeo-wool
Tae-suk
In-sik
Popular
Man-sik
Ji-u
Gorgeous
Ja-young
Sung-jae
Sang-woo
Myung-bak
Chi
Kwock
Won-yong
Chai
Jung-hwan
Hyungsik
Young-tae
Hyun-jun
Bae/bai
Oh-seong
Hak
Seo-jun
Binna
Mae
Suk
Jung-nam
Jun-ha
Gok
Joo-won
Junsu
Soo-geun
Chu
Yeo-jeong
Ji-hye
Woong
Hyung-joon
Tang
Hanuel
Jun-young
Hyun-ho
Myung-jun
Il-sung
Jong-up
Joon-tae
Cha
Seong-keun
Tae-woong
Jun-seo
Min-ji
Dal-rae
Yoo-suk
Myeong-suk
Gyeong-ja
Cheol-min
Gyeong-taek
Won-ho
Seung-jun
Ha-eun
Ha-yun
Incheon
Keng
Jee
Kun-woo
Chae-won
Seung
Fun fact:”Seung” means “success or victory” in South Korea.
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“Love, patience, and guidance – these three words describe me the best. I founded “TheRightParent” dedicated to helping parents navigate the ups and downs of raising children. As a father of two children, I have been studying the principles of effective parenting for over a decade and my passion lies in sharing my insights with others. My mission is to empower parents to become better guides for their children