Hangul 고유어 이름 Revised Romanization Goyueo ireum | Hanja 固有語 이름 McCune–Reischauer Koyuŏ irŭm | |
This is a list of Korean given names by type. Most Korean given names consist of two Sino-Korean morphemes each written with one hanja. There are also names with more than two syllables, often from native Korean vocabulary. Finally, there are a small number of one-syllable names. Originally, there was no legal limitation on the length of names, but since 1993, regulations in South Korea have prohibited the registration of given names longer than five syllable blocks, in response to some parents giving their children extremely long names such as the 16-syllable Haneulbyeollimgureumhaennimbodasarangseureouri (하늘별님구름햇님보다사랑스러우리). Lists of hanja for names are illustrative, not exhaustive.
Contents
Native Korean names
Goyueo ireum are Korean given names which come from native Korean vocabulary, rather than Sino-Korean roots. These names have been used on occasion for centuries, but they only began to become widespread in South Korea in the late 20th century. They do not have corresponding hanja, though in some cases, these names might be represented using hanja with the correct Korean pronunciation but an unrelated meaning (for example, 曙羅, with hanja meaning "sunlight" and "net", for Sora). However, this is not possible for all names; for example, for Ha-neul, there are no hanja with the reading "neul" (늘) on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.
There are also some mixed names: those in which a single name contains both a Sino-Korean element and a native Korean element.
Other names
This section is for names not included in the above sections. Names are listed in South Korean hangul alphabetical order.