Choosing a strong and virtuous name for your little boy is often thought of as a precursor to success, a tradition embraced by many Korean parents.
Korean male names are beautiful and unique, and their wide range of meanings — some quite aspirational — offer a number of great possibilities for naming your child.
Ready to learn more about Korean boy names and their meanings?
Korean naming conventions
For Korean children, given names are typically three syllables long. Names consist of a surname, which is written first, followed by a personal name.
Personal names, or “first” names, may be one word with one meaning consisting of two syllables, or may consist of two monosyllabic words with separate but harmonious meanings. They are sometimes written with a space or hyphen, though in some cases are written as one name.
Both of a Korean child’s personal names are considered first names, as the concept of a middle name is not observed within Korean culture. Though surnames are always written first in Korea, some Koreans living in the Western world choose to write their surname last in order to avoid confusion.
A generational difference also exists in the writing of Korean names. Though many older Koreans use traditional Chinese characters called, ‘hanja’ to write their names, younger generations largely prefer the use of Hangul, the Korean alphabet.
In many cases, Korean names are not as explicitly gendered as Western names, though many name meanings lean more toward masculine or feminine ideals and are thus classified as such.
Korean baby names (A to Z)
B
- Baek Hyeon – virtuous older brother
- Beom Seok – like a rock
- Bong – phoenix; a mythical bird
- Bon-Hwa – glorious one
- Byung-Chul – grasp, hold; authority; wise, sagacious
- Byung Ho – bright, luminous, glorious; great, vast
C
- Chin-Hae – depth of the ocean
- Chin-Hwa – most prosperous and wealthiest of all
- Chin-Mae – one who always speaks the truth
- Chul – iron
- Chul-Moo – made of iron
- Chung-Ae – nobility and love
- Chung-Hee – righteous and dutiful
- Chul-Soon – honest, wise man
D
- Dae – the great, shining one
- Dae-Ho – great personality
- Dae-Hyun – great and honour
- Dae-Jung – honest and righteous
- Daeshim – greatest mind
- Do-Yun – pathway and consent
- Dong – East
- Dong-Min – East and cleverness
- Dong-Sun – goodness of the East
- Dae-Ho – great personality
- Dae-Hyun – great and honour
- Dong-Yul – passion of the East
- Du-Ho – goodness
- Duck-Hwan – return of the virtue
- Duck-Young – unchanging, everlasting virtue
E
- Eun – abundant
- Eun-seong – abundant sincerity
G
- Gun – strong; warrior
- Gyeong-wan – shining, glowing; pure; complete
H
- Ha-Joon – great, grand; talented, handsome
- Hak-Kun – one with literate roots
- Haneul – heavenly
- Ho – tiger, brave or fierce
- Hoon – to merit or teach
- Ho-Sung – bright victory
- Hwan – bright
- Hye – bright and intelligent man
- Hye-Seong – comet, star, blessing
- Hyuk – radiant
I
- Il – superio
- In – humanity or wisdom
- In-Su – preserving wisdom
- Iseul – dew
J
- Jee – knowledge or wisdom
- Jii – wisdom; a sign of intelligence
- Joo-won- original
- Joon – exceptionally talented
- Joo-hwan – shining pearl or jewel
- Jum – king or ruler
- Jung – a righteous man
- Jung-Hwa – a rich and righteous man
K
- Kang-Dae – mighty and strong
- Ki – one who has arisen
- Korain – glorious and luminous
- Kwan – one who is strong
- Kwang – wild
- Kwang-Jo – castle of light
- Kwang-Sun – light and goodness
- Kyong – bright or shining
- Kyubok – blessed by God
- Kyung – respect
- Kyung-chu – firm honor and respect
M
- Mal-Chin – persists to the end
- Man-Shik – deeply rooted in something
- Man-Young – ten thousand years of prosperity
- Min-Jun – quick, clever, talented and handsome
- Myung – bright and clear
- Myung-Dae – a greatly righteous person
- Myung-Soo – brilliant shore
- Myung-Suk – foundation of ages
- Myung-Yong – bright dragon
O
- Oh-Seong – five planets or stars
- Ok – treasured
S
- Sang-Ook – one who is well and healthy
- Seo-Jun – auspicious
- Seok – like a rock
- Seung – successor or winner
- Seung-Gi – the sun rising
- Seung-Jun – genius
- Shik – planting
- So – smile
- Suk – hardness
- Suk-Chin – unshakeable rock
- Suk – alternative spelling for ‘Seok’ – like a rock
T
- Tae – a great person
- Tae-Ho – great and good
- Tae-Il – great sun or great day
- Tae-Woo – great universe
- Tae-Woong – great hero
U
- Uk – sunrise
W
- Whan – ever growing
- Won-Shik – head of the family
- Woong – hero or bear
Y
- Ye-Jun – talented and handsome
- Yeon-Jin – precious
- Yeon-Seok – bestowed
- Yeon-U – divine protection
- Yeong – courageous person
- Yeong-Hyeon – perpetual sunlight
