The basic shape
A typical Korean name has three syllables: a one-syllable surname followed by a two-syllable given name, written without spaces. In 김서연 (Kim Seo-yeon), 김 is the surname and 서연 is the given name. The surname always comes first, both in writing and in speech.
Some people have one-syllable given names (김율), and a small number of surnames have two syllables, such as 남궁, 제갈, 선우, 황보 and 독고. By law, a given name can be up to five syllables, but almost everyone uses one or two.
A few surnames, a lot of people
Korea has thousands of recorded surnames, but a handful cover most people. In the 2015 census by Statistics Korea, Kim, Lee and Park alone accounted for about 44.6% of the population, and the top five for more than half. That is why Korean friends often call each other by full name or given name rather than by surname.
Each surname is also split into clans (본관, bon-gwan) named after a place of origin. Gimhae Kim is the largest clan, with over four million members. Two people named Kim are not necessarily related; the clan tells you more.
Meaning comes from Hanja
Most given names are written in Hangul but chosen for the Chinese characters (Hanja) behind each syllable. The syllable 서 can be 瑞 (good omen) or 書 (writing); 연 can be 妍 (beautiful) or 蓮 (lotus). Parents pick characters for their meaning and register them, and the Supreme Court keeps a list of Hanja allowed in names.
That is how our converter works: it looks at what your name means and finds a real Korean name whose Hanja carry the same meaning.
Native Korean names
Some names use pure Korean words with no Hanja at all, such as 하늘 (sky), 보람 (worth, reward), 슬기 (wisdom) and 한결 (steady, constant). They became popular from the 1980s and are still chosen today.
Generation names
Traditionally, siblings and cousins of the same generation in a clan shared one syllable, called 돌림자 or 항렬자. If two brothers are named 민준 and 민호, 민 may be their generation syllable. Many families still follow this; many others no longer do.
Popular names today
Name trends change quickly. Among children registered since 2008, these are some of the most common names (birth registration statistics from the Supreme Court’s family registry):
- Girls: 서윤, 서연, 하윤, 서현, 하은
- Boys: 서준, 민준, 도윤, 시우, 하준
Soft sounds like 서, 하, 윤 and 준 are everywhere in recent names.
Family name rules
Korean women keep their own surname after marriage. Children usually take the father’s surname, though since 2008 parents can choose the mother’s surname if they agree on it when registering the marriage.
Name experts and lucky strokes
Some parents still visit a naming office (작명소) that checks stroke counts of the Hanja and the child’s birth date. The four-part stroke reading (元亨利貞) on our name certificate follows that tradition for fun; it is not a prediction.
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Updated 2026-10-23