Overview
Most Korean baby names are unisex but can be modified with different characters or words to make them masculine or feminine.
For example, Min is a unisex name. It becomes a male name as Min-ho, but it’s a female name as Min-ji or Min-seo.
What Are Common Korean Names?
Several Korean surnames like Kim and Lee can also work as first names. And though these are primarily used as boy names in many English-speaking countries, Kim and Lee are unisex names in Korea.
Unlike in most places, Korean women retain their full personal names after marriage. Their surnames don’t change to their husband’s family name.
The children take their dad’s family name. But it’s also possible to use their mother’s surname if the couple agreed on this upon registering their marriage.
In Korean culture, families often share a generational name syllable using a distinct syllable or word from Chinese characters.
All members of the same generation use the same generational name in South Korea (it applies to the extended family), while siblings only share this syllable in North Korea. Notice that surnames are also written first instead of the given names.
For example:
- Dad’s generational name is Yu (Full name: Li Yu-feng)
- Mom’s generational name is De (Full name: Wang De-min)
- Kids’ generational name is Weng (Full names: Li Weng-ho, Li Weng-mei, and Li Weng-seo)
Now, interest in Korean culture has increased across the world due to the so-called “Korean wave” that made Korean songs (like “Gangnam Style” by Psy), movies, and TV shows popular even if the viewers don’t really understand the Korean language. They simply rely on subtitles to understand what the characters are saying.
So, Korean names like Min-jun, Bae, Choi, and Ji-yoon have become popular names even in English-speaking countries.
Note that dashes (-) are common in Korean names, but you can also spell the name without them. For example, Chan-yeol and Chanyeol have the same meaning.
If you’re planning to choose a Korean name for your baby, it’s a good idea to check what the Korean words mean. Some words are similarly spelled but could mean different things.
The following are our top 100 choices of the most popular Korean baby names and their meanings to help you choose the one for your newborn baby:
Popular Korean Baby Names for Boys
Note that just like Japanese names, Korean name meanings can also change depending on the hanja used. Hanja is the traditional Korean writing system that uses traditional Chinese characters.
Although most Korean baby names are unisex, some can only be used as boys’ names.
You can find some of these names below:
Bae
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Inspired or inspiration
- Variations/Synonyms: Bai or Pae
- Description: It’s primarily used as a male name of Korean origin.
Baek-hyeon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Virtuous older brother
- Variations/Synonyms: Baek-hyun
- Description: It’s made from the combination of “Baek,” which means “older brother,” and “Hyeon,” which means “worthy and virtuous.”
- This name can only be used for boys and is usually picked for the firstborn son.
Beom-seok
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Pattern of a rock
- Variations/Synonyms: Bum-suk and Pom-sok
- Description: It comes from the combination of “Beom,” which means “pattern, rule, or model,” and “Seok,” which means “like a rock.”
Chan-yeol
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Bright, vivid, and illuminating
- Variations/Synonyms: Chanyeol
- Description: Most Korean names are written using hanja (Korean Chinese characters). But “Chanyeol” comes from hangul (native Korean alphabet), “Alchan Yeolmae,” which means “fruitful.”
- It can also mean vehement, brave, and fiery.
Chin-hwa
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: The most wealthy or most prosperous
- Variations/Synonyms: Chinhwa
- Description: It’s primarily used as a boys’ name.
Choi
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Pinnacle, mountain, or a governor who oversees the mountain and the land
- Variations/Synonyms: Choe
- Description: It’s from the Sino-Korean word “choe,” which means “lofty, high, and towering.”
Chul
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Firm
- Variations/Synonyms: Cheol or Chol
- Description: It’s a primarily male name that can also mean “craving.”
Dae
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Greatness and honor
- Variations/Synonyms: Dai, Day, and Tae
- Description: This is a primarily male name but is occasionally used for females. The best example is Dae Jang Geum (The Great Jang-geum), known as the first female royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty (an ancient Korean kingdom).
Dal
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Moon
- Variations/Synonyms: Wol
- Description: It can also mean “month.”
Do-hyun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Elegant and virtuous
- Variations/Synonyms: Do-hyeon, Dohyeon, and Dohyun.
- Description: It comes from the combination of Sino-Korean words “do,” which means “elegant and refined,” and “hyeon,” which means “virtuous, worthy, good.”
Ga-eul
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Autumn or fall
- Variations/Synonyms: Ka-eul or Gaeul
- Description: The name comes from a single Hangul term (indigenous Korean alphabet), “Gaeul,” which means autumn.
Ga-ram
- Origin: Korean and Old Chinese
- Meaning: River
- Variations/Synonyms: Garam
- Description: It’s from the Old Chinese or native Korean word “garam,” which means “river.”
Gun-woo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Mankind and optimistic
- Variations/Synonyms: Gunwoo, Keon-woo, Kun-woo, and Eun-woo
- Description: In the Korean language, “gun” can also mean “sky,” and “woo” can mean “house or structure.”
Gyeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Honor and respect
- Variations/Synonyms: Gyung
- Description: This is a gender-neutral Korean name.
Ha-joon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Handsome, great, and talented
- Variations/Synonyms: Ha-jun
- Description: It comes from the combination of “ha,” which means “great or grand,” and “joon,” which means “talented, handsome.”
Haneul
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Sky and Heaven
- Variations/Synonyms: Ha-nul and Ha-neul
- Description: This is a unisex name.
Him-chan
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Strong praise
- Variations/Synonyms: Himchan
- Description: In Sino-Korean, “Him” means “strong” and “Chan” means “praise, applaud,” or approve.”
Hoon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Teaching
- Variations/Synonyms: Hun
- Description: It’s a primarily male Korean name.
Hwan
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Bright and shining or brilliant and lustrous
- Variations/Synonyms: Huan
- Description: It comes from “gutsel hwan,” the Sino-Korean name of a species of soapberry tree.
Hyeon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Virtuous, worthy, and able
- Variations/Synonyms: Hyun and Hyon
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean word “hyeon,” which means “worth or virtuous.”
- The hanja for “hyeon” means “dark and mysterious.”
Hyun-woo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Manifest and divine intervention
- Variations/Synonyms: Hyeon-woo, Hyon-woo, and Hyeon-u
- Description: This name also means “bright house” because “hyun” means “bright” and “woo” means “house.”
Hyung
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Older brother
- Variations/Synonyms: Hyeong
- Description: In Korean culture, “hyung” is an honorific used by a younger male sibling to call his older brother.
- Although an honorific in Korea, Hyung is used as a first name in other places.
Jae
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Talent or riches
- Variations/Synonyms: Jai
- Description: This gender-neutral name comes from the hanja “jae,” which means “wealth or riches.”
- It’s also from the Sino-Korean word “jae,” which means “talent and ability.”
Jeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Quiet or gentle
- Variations/Synonyms: Jung, Chung, and Chong
- Description: This name comes from the Sino-Korean word “jeong,” which means “gentle or quiet.”
- Another hanja of “jeong” means “virtuous and loyal.”
Ji-ho
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Wisdom and knowledge
- Variations/Synonyms: Chi-ho and Jie-ho
- Description: This predominantly male name can also mean “tiger” or “brave and fierce.”
Ji-Min: Is The Name Jimin A Unisex Name?
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Sharp or clever ambition
- Variations/Synonyms: Jimin and Jee-min
- Description: This name comes from the combination of Sino-Korean names “Ji,” which means “purpose or ambition,” and “Min,” which means “wisdom or intellect.”
- Other meanings of “Min” include “gentle, affable, quick, clever, sharp, and jade or a stone resembling jade.”
- It’s a unisex name.
Jong-woo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Upright friend
- Variations/Synonyms: Jeong-woo, Jeong-u, and Jung-woo
- Description: It’s a predominantly male name.
Joon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Handsome, deep, obey, and standard
- Variations/Synonyms: Jun, Chun, and June
- Description: This unisex name is preferably used as a given name for boys.
Jun-seo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Handsome and auspicious (promising or someone likely to succeed)
- Variations/Synonyms: Joon-seo, Joon-suh, and Jun-suh
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean words “jun,” which means “talented and handsome,” and “seo,” which means “comfortable and easy” or “auspicious.”
Kim
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Metal, iron, or gold
- Variations/Synonyms: Gim
- Description: Kim is the most common surname in Korea, but it’s also popular as a given name.
Kwan
- Origin: Korean and Chinese
- Meaning: Strong
- Variations/Synonyms: Kwon and Guan
- Description: It’s usually considered as a masculine name.
Kyung
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Honor and respect
- Variations/Synonyms: Kyeong, Kyoung, Gyeong, and Kyong
- Description: It’s a gender-neutral name that can also mean “brightness.”
Lee
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Plum
- Variations/Synonyms: Li, Yi, Ri, or Rhee
- Description: It’s derived from the Chinese name “Li.” Both are written using the same hanja characters.
Min-ho
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Brightness and goodness
- Variations/Synonyms: Minho
- Description: It’s from the combination of Sino-Korean words “min,” which means “stone resembling jade” or “fast, clever, quick, and smart,” and “ho,” which means “brave and heroic” or “bright.”
Min-jun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Clever and handsome
- Variations/Synonyms: Min-joon
- Description: It comes from a combination of Sino-Korean words “min,” which means “quick, clever, and sharp,” or “gentle,” and “jun,” which means “talented and handsome.”
Myung
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Brilliance
- Variations/Synonyms: Myeong, Myong, and Myoung
- Description: It’s used both as a Korean family name and a given name.
- It’s related to the Chinese surname Ming and written in the hanja for “myung,” which means “bright.”
Seok
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Stone, strong, and ancient
- Variations/Synonyms: Suk and Sook
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean word “seok,” which means “stone.”
Seung
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Succeed and accomplish
- Variations/Synonyms: Sung and Seong
- Description: The Sino-Korean term “seung” can also mean “victory” or “inherit.”
Shi-woo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Excellent world or universe
- Variations/Synonyms: Si-woo, See-woo, and Shi-Wu
- Description: It comes from the combination of “shi,” which means “excellent and good,” and “woo,” which means “universe or world.”
Sung-min
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Quick, clever, and sharp-natured
- Variations/Synonyms: Seung-min and Seong-min
- Description: It comes from the combination of the Sino-Korean words “seong,” which means “completed or succeeded,” and “min,” which means “quick, clever, and sharp.”
Tae-hyun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Great honor
- Variations/Synonyms: Tae-hyeon
- Description: This name comes from the Sino-Korean words “tae,” which means “highest or greatest,” and “hyeon,” which means “virtuous or good.”
Won-shik
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Head of the family
- Variations/Synonyms: Won-sik and Wonshik
- Description: It’s a primarily masculine Korean name.
Woo-jin
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Treasure of the family
- Variations/Synonyms: U-jin
- Description: The name can also mean “excellence of truth.”
Wook
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Dawn or rising sun
- Variations/Synonyms: Wuk and Weok
- Description: This primarily masculine name comes from hanja for “wook,” which means “rising sun.”
Ye-jun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Talented and handsome
- Variations/Synonyms: Ye-joon
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean words “ye,” which means “art, talent, and craft,” and “jun,” which means “talented and handsome.”
Yeon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Like nature
- Variations/Synonyms: Yun, Yon, and Yoon
- Description: The hanja for this name can also mean “beautiful and graceful.”
Yeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Braver hero or kindness and mercy forever
- Variations/Synonyms: Young, Yong, and Yung
- Description: The hanja for “yeong” has several meanings, including “eternal or forever,” “flower or petal,” and “brave or hero.”
- It’s also from the Sino-Korean word “eun,” which means “kindness, mercy, and charity.”
Yong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Dragon
- Variations/Synonyms: Ryong
- Description: It comes from the hangul “ryong,” which means “dragon,” but the hanja is “yong.”
Yoo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Tenderness, friend, evening, qualified, courage, and help
- Variations/Synonyms: Yu, Yuu, and Ryu
- Description: It’s related to the Chinese hanja “yu,” which means “willow tree.”
Yoon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Governor
- Variations/Synonyms: Yeon, Yune, Yiun, and Youn
- Description: The hanja for “yoon” can also mean “handsome.”
What Is A Good Korean Name For A Girl?
Just like Korean boys’ names, the girls’ names can also be spelled with or without dashes (-).
The name meanings can also change, depending on the hanja used or the second name you choose.
The following are our top choices for Korean baby girl names:
A-yeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Refined and graceful
- Variations/Synonyms: Ah-young, A-yong, and A-young
- Description: The name comes from the Sino-Korean words “a,” which means “elegant, graceful, refined, and beautiful,” and “yeong,” which means “petal, flower, and brave.”
Ae-cha
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Loving daughter
- Variations/Synonyms: Ae Cha or Aecha
- Description: It comes from the combination of “ae,” which means “love,” and “cha,” which means “daughter.”
What Is The Cutest Korean Name? Aera
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Love
- Variations/Synonyms: Ae-ra and Ae Ra
- Description: This is a primarily feminine Korean name.
Bitna
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Shining
- Variations/Synonyms: Bin-na and Bit-na
- Description: It comes from the hangul “binnada,” which means “to shine.”
Bong-cha
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Superior daughter or the ultimate girl
- Variations/Synonyms: Bongcha and Bong
- Description: It’s a primarily female name, but its root word “bong” is a masculine name that means “phoenix, the mythical bird.”
Bora
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Purple
- Variations/Synonyms: Pora
- Description: The name comes from one hangul, “bora,” which means “purple.”
- It’s a primarily Korean feminine given name.
What Is A Beautiful Name In Korean? Cho
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Beautiful
- Variations/Synonyms: Jo
- Description: It’s a primarily feminine name in Korea.
Chun-hee
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Justice and grace
- Variations/Synonyms: Chun-hei or Chon-hee
- Description: You can also give this name to baby boys.
Chung-ha
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Righteous girl or noble daughter
- Variations/Synonyms: Chungcha and Cheongha
- Description: It’s a primarily feminine given name in Korea.
Da-som
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Love
- Variations/Synonyms: Dasom and Sa-rang
- Description: It’s an older but still beautiful version of the name “Sa-rang,” which means “love.”
Eun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Kindness, money, and beautiful
- Variations/Synonyms: Un, En, Unn, Ehn, and Enn
- Description: The Sino-Korean hanja for “eun” means “kindness, mercy, and charity” or “silver and money.” It can also mean “beautiful or pretty.”
Eun-ae
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Grace with love
- Variations/Synonyms: Eunae
- Description: This is primarily a feminine Korean name.
Eun-Jeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Kind and graceful
- Variations/Synonyms: Eun-jung, Eun-joong, Eun-jeong, and Eunjeong.
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean words “eun,” which means “kindness, mercy, and charity,” and “jeong,” which means “pretty and graceful.”
Eun-kyung
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Kindness, mercy, and respect
- Variations/Synonyms: Eun-kyeong, Un-kyong, and Un-gyong
- Description: It can also mean “grace and honor.”
Eunji
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Kindness and wisdom
- Variations/Synonyms: Eun-ji, Un-ji, and Unn-ji
- Description: It comes from the combination of “eun,” which means “kindness, mercy, and charity,” and “ji,” which means “wisdom and intellect.”
Gyeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Respect and honor
- Variations/Synonyms: Kyung, Kyoung, and Kyong
- Description: This name can also mean “view or scenery,” depending on the hanja used.
Gyeong-hui
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Respect and honor or beauty
- Variations/Synonyms: Gyung-hui and Gyeonghui
- Description: This feminine Korean name comes from the Sino-Korean terms “gyeong,” which means “respect and honor,” and “hui,” which means “beauty.”
Ha-eun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Summer, great, and grand
- Variations/Synonyms: Ha-un and Haeun
- Description: It can be a good pick for a baby girl who’s born in the summer months.
Ha-yoon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Summer sunlight
- Variations/Synonyms: Ha-yun and Ha-yeon
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean words “ha,” which means “summer or talented,” and “yun,” which means “sunlight.”
Hae
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Sun
- Variations/Synonyms: Hye
- Description: This name could mean “sun” or “to be happy,” depending on the hanja used.
- In the Chinese language, where the Korean language is based, “hae” means “sea.”
Hana
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: One (the number)
- Variations/Synonyms: Han-na
- Description: This name is a primarily female choice that can also mean “my favorite.”
Hwa
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Flower and harmony or peace
- Variations/Synonyms: Hua
- Description: This unisex name comes from the Sino-Korean terms for flower and harmony.
Hye
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Intelligent woman
- Variations/Synonyms: Hae and Hay
- Description: This name comes from the Sino-Korean word “hye,” which means “bright and intelligent.”
Hyeon-jeong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Virtuous or worthy
- Variations/Synonyms: Hyun-jung, Hyun-jeong, and Hyeon-jung
- Description: This name comes from the combination of the Sino-Korean words “hyeon,” which means “virtuous, able, and worthy,” and “jeong,” which means “courtyard” or “virtuous, chaste, and loyal.”
Iseul
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Morning dew
- Variations/Synonyms: Isseul
- Description: The hanja for this unisex name can also mean “heaven or sky” and “to be happy.”
Jae
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Respect
- Variations/Synonyms: Jai
- Description: The name also comes from the Sino-Korean word “jae,” which means “talent and ability,” or “wealth and riches.”
Jang
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Battle or archer
- Variations/Synonyms: Jahng, Chang, and Zang
- Description: This name comes from the hangul “jang,” which means “ war or battle.”
Ji-ah
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Wisdom, purpose, and graceful
- Variations/Synonyms: Jee-ah, Jiah, and Chi-ah
- Description: It’s a primarily feminine Korean name that can also mean “heart, spirit, and soul.”
Ji-woo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Ambition, intellect, purpose, and universe
- Variations/Synonyms: Jee-woo, Chi-woo
- Description: This is a unisex Korean given name that can also mean “will,” “comprehend,” “rain,” and “house.”
Ji-yoon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Purpose, good luck, and posterity
- Variations/Synonyms: Jee-yoon, Ji-yun, and Ji-youn
- Description: This is a unisex name that’s often chosen by parents who want their children to excel in the arts and music.
- The name is also linked to mysteries and a person’s high regard for nature.
Joo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Red and around
- Variations/Synonyms: Ju, Jeo, and Chu
- Description: This name can mean either “red” or “around,” depending on the hanja used.
- It’s a unisex name that can also mean “precious.”
Joo-won
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Silver pearl
- Variations/Synonyms: Ju-won
- Description: This name comes from the Sino-Korean words “ju,” which means “circumference or around,” and “won,” which means “first and origin” or “beautiful woman.”
- Because of its name meaning, Joo-won is a primarily feminine Korean name.
Kyong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Brightness and shining
- Variations/Synonyms: Kyung, Kyoung, Gyeong, and Kyeong
- Description: This unisex name comes from the Korean hangul “kyong,” which means “brightness.”
Mi Cha
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Gorgeous or beautiful daughter
- Variations/Synonyms: Mi Chae, Mee Cha, and Micha
- Description: This primarily girls’ name comes from a combination of the Sino-Korean words “mi,” which means “gorgeous and beautiful,” and “cha,” which means “daughter.”
- The name can also be translated to “gorgeous and noble daughter.”
Mi-sun
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Beauty and goodness
- Variations/Synonyms: Mee-sun and Mi-seon
- Description: You can also give this unisex name to boys, but it’s considered a predominantly female name.
- It comes from the combination of Sino-Korean words “mi,” which means “beautiful and gorgeous (or handsome if used by your baby boy),” and “sun,” which means “goodness.”
Min-ji
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Intelligent, clever, and sharp
- Variations/Synonyms: Min-jee
- Description: This is a primarily female Korean name.
Min-seo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Calm and clever
- Variations/Synonyms: Min-suh
- Description: This name comes from the combination of Sino-Korean words “min,” which means “people and citizens,” or “quick, clever, and sharp,” with “seo,” which means “slowly, calmly, composed, and dignified.”
Nari
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Lily
- Variations/Synonyms: Naree
- Description: Most Korean names have two Sino-Korean root words that are written with one hanja per word. But Nari is an indigenous Korean name written with just one hangul that means “lily.”
Sae-Rom
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Bamboo
- Variations/Synonyms: Saeroum and Sae-roum
- Description: It can also mean “a person who’s always young and fresh.”
- It is a primarily female Korean name.
Sarang
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Love and affection
- Variations/Synonyms: Saryang, Sa-rang, Salang, Sa-lang, and Sar-yang
- Description: Sarang is an indigenous Korean name written with one hangul, “sarang,” which means “love.”
Seo-yeon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Beautiful and graceful or a felicitous omen (good and favorable omen)
- Variations/Synonyms: Seo-yun
- Description: It comes from the combination of Sino-Korean words “seo,” which means “auspicious or promising,” and “yeon,” which means “beautiful and graceful.”
- It’s one of the most popular Korean names.
Seong
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Complete, succeed, and accomplish
- Variations/Synonyms: Sung
- Description: It comes from the Sino-Korean word “seong,” which means “accomplish or succeed.”
- It’s a name that can be used both for boys and girls. Examples are Sung-mi (feminine), Seong-gyeong (unisex), and Sung-nam (masculine).
Soo
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Water, excellence, and long life
- Variations/Synonyms: Su and Seo
- Description: This name can have different meanings, depending on the hanja used for writing. It can mean “water,” “excellence or magnificence,” and “long life.”
- It’s a primarily feminine name that can also mean “to be happy.”
Soo-ah
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Beautiful, water, long life, and excellence
- Variations/Synonyms: Su-a, Su-ah, and Soo-a
- Description: The name comes from the Sino-Korean words “soo,” which means “water, bank, and excellence,” and “ah,” which means “beautiful, elegant, and graceful.”
Sook
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Pure and light
- Variations/Synonyms: Seok and Suk
- Description: This is a primarily gender-neutral name in Korean but is usually given to baby girls.
Tae-yeon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Proud, great, and kindhearted
- Variations/Synonyms: Tae-yun, Taeyeon, and Taeyun
- Description: Different hanja can be used to write this unisex name. Parents often pick it because it means “great.”
Yeon-Ah
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Beauty or better
- Variations/Synonyms: Yeonah and Yeon-a
- Description: This name comes from the combination of Sino-Korean words “yeon,” which means “beautiful or gorgeous,” and “ah,” which means “elegant, graceful, and refined.”
Yon
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Beautiful lotus blossom
- Variations/Synonyms: Yun and Yeon
- Description: This is a popular Korean girls’ name that means “lotus blossom.”
Yu-jin
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Abundant, possess, and valuable
- Variations/Synonyms: Yoo-jin
- Description: This name comes from the combination of Sino-Korean words “yu,” which means “abundant, rich, and plentiful,” and “jin,” which means “precious, valuable, rare, and truth.”
Yuri
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Comfortable or glass bead
- Variations/Synonyms: Yeori, Yu-ri, Yeo-ri, Yoo-ri, and You-ri
- Description: It means “a glass pane” in Sino-Korean.
- Alternate hanja characters suggest different meanings for this name. It comes from the combination of “yu,” which means “consent and approve” or “forgive, pardon, and indulge,” and “ri,” which means “gains, advantage, profit, and merit.”
