Among Asian names, the Russian layman most often hears Japanese and Chinese forms. But few people in our country face the specifics of the Korean onomasticon. In this article, we will cover this topic a bit and find out what Korean names and surnames are.
About Korean names and surnames
The first step is to touch on the principle by which Korean surnames and names are built. Firstly, it must be said that the vast majority of surnames are monosyllabic, that is, they consist of one syllable. But Korean names, on the contrary, are most often compound, including two syllables. For example, the President of South Korea is named Moo Hyun, and his last name is No. The surname is pronounced first, which is why he is called Roh Moo Hyun in official chronicles. Although it is customary to write a Korean name in Russian in two words, this is just a feature of the way of transmitting hieroglyphic writing that has become established in Russia. It is important to understand that these are not really two names, but one name, consisting of two syllable hieroglyphs.
It is also necessaryNote that Korean names are overwhelmingly of Chinese origin. As for surnames, they are most often based on the Korean root, although it is significantly Sinicized. In general, there are relatively few surnames in Korean everyday life. But there are a huge number of names. They are picked up with the help of a special ceremony by fortunetellers trained in the rules of naming. Since the name is selected from two characters, this leads to the fact that a fixed onomasticon simply does not exist in Korea. Korean names can be a variety of variants of two syllables. Plus, almost any Chinese character can be included in the name, of which there are about seventy thousand in total. Although, of course, there are those that are used more often than others. But still, the probability of meeting two people with the same name in Korea is almost zero. Sometimes two people have the same name. But even so, they are likely to be spelled differently, since many Chinese characters that sound different in Korea begin to be pronounced the same. Hence sometimes there are difficulties associated with translation. After all, if it is not known how Korean names are written in hieroglyphs, then it can be impossible to translate them adequately.
Another feature of the onomasticon of Korea is that Korean names for men and women are spelled and pronounced the same. In other words, they are simply not divided into male and female, which is somewhat unusual for the European consciousness. The only way to determine gender by nameman, is to penetrate the meaning. For example, it is unlikely that the girl will be called Meng Ho, which means "brave tiger." But, as it should be assumed, such a system of gender identification does not always work and gives only hypothetical results.
Beautiful Korean names
Next, we will go directly to the list of Korean names. But, as mentioned above, it is simply impossible to compile such a list. Therefore, all the Korean names of girls and men that will be given below are only examples. We will give a list of the most common and beautiful in sound and meaning of syllables, without compiling pairs of full-fledged nominal forms from them. All Korean names in this list will be sorted alphabetically.
A
Amen. This is the syllable used for baby names.
B
Bao. This is a root that is included in many Korean names, mostly masculine. It means "protection".
B
Vienne. It's a word that means "completion."
D
Jung. A very popular syllable in Korean nominal forms. This is not surprising, since its meaning is love.
Duk. In this case, it's about desire. This is how the word is translated.
E, E
Yong. This is a word that is translated into Russian as "peace".
Yeonam. This name means "swallow rock".
I, J
Yong. This name is an example of the tradition of naming a child with some noble quality. In this case,this is courage.
Iseul. This word is called morning dew. It has also become an integral part of many Korean names.
K
Kim. A very popular form in Korean given names and surnames. Means golden or golden.
L
Lin. This is one of the names, originating in the seasons. Means spring.
Lien. This word hides the name of such an important plant for Asian spirituality as the lotus.
M
Munyeol. A very interesting name that can literally be translated with the words "literary feat."
N
Nung. This word is translated as "velvet". Many Korean girl names include it.
Ngoc. This is the name of any precious stone.
Nguyet. Almost all cultures have names referring to the moon. This syllable is the designation of the night luminary.
O
OK. This word is nothing more than the designation of a stone known in Russia under the name "jasper".
P
Pakpao. Translated into Russian, this word means "kite".
Puong. This word in Korean refers to the bird we know as the phoenix.
С
Sunan. This name can be translated as "kind word" and as "blessing".
Juice. It's a name that means "stone".
Soo. Complex abstract concept. It can roughly be translated into Russian with the phrase “noble in spirit.”
T
Thai. In Russian, this syllable can be conveyed by the concept"friendly" or "friendly", "comradely".
Thi. Under this syllable is hidden a literary work, which in Russian we would call a poem.
Tuen. The meaning that this word hides under itself is translated into Russian by the word “ray”.
X
Hoa. There are many plant names in Korea. It simply means "flower", for example.
T
Ching. This name can be adequately conveyed by the word “jewel”.
W
Chow. This syllable means "pearl". Often used when composing female names.
Chi. This syllable conveys what in Russian we call "tree branch".
Ш
Shin. Another of the names reflecting the good character. In this case, the syllable is translated as "trust".
Yu
Yuong. A very noble name, the direct meaning of which is courage.
I
Young. This is the name most often given to girls. This fact is quite natural, because its literal meaning is forever young.
