Korean Last Names

Q: How many Korean last names exist?

About 280 are in general use. Count every hanja writing and clan branch in the census tally and the figure runs into the thousands, but most of those lines hold only a handful of households. The long tail is real, and it is thin.

Q: Why are there so many Kims?

Because Kim is many clans, not one family. More than 350 bon-gwan branches write 김 金, and a Kimhae Kim shares no ancestor with a Gyeongju Kim. The surname spread as clans adopted written names, and the concentration held because the clan system kept lines distinct instead of merging them.

Q: Do Korean women keep their last names after marriage?

Yes. Korean law keeps every person's birth surname. There is no shared marital surname: a wife keeps hers, a husband keeps his, and children conventionally take the father's. Two surnames in one household is the normal shape.

Korean surnames are hanja receipts: 김 Kim is 金 "gold," 이 Lee is 李 "plum tree," 박 Park is 朴 "plain and unadorned." Every name below shows its characters, its meaning, and the clan line behind it.

What are common Korean last names?

Kim, Lee, Park, Choi and Jung lead the national register, and the order below follows it. The table runs in commonness order, and every row is a receipt: the hangul, the hanja, the literal meaning, the family line. One rule governs the whole list: a surname earns its row by a documented hanja origin, not by sound. Copy any row, or the whole set.

The register in commonness order: every row a receipt.

Korean last names with hangul, hanja, meanings and origins
Name	Hangul	Hanja	Meaning	Family line
Kim	김	金	gold, metal	more than 350 bon-gwan clan lines; Kimhae and Gyeongju lead
Lee	이	李	plum tree	the Jeonju and Gyeongju lines lead
Park	박	朴	plain, unadorned	the Gyeongju founding line; the gourd origin story
Choi	최	崔	lofty mountain	built from 高 (high) over 山 (mountain); Gyeongju and Jeonju lines
Jung	정	鄭	the state of Zheng	also written 丁 (robust) and 程 (journey), each its own register
Kang	강	康	well-being	also 姜 and 强, separate clan lines
Cho	조	趙	the state of Zhao	also written 曺, a separate register
Yoon	윤	尹	to govern, oversee	the Papyeong and Haepyeong lines
Jang	장	張	to draw a bow	also 章 (emblem) and 莊, separate registers
Lim	임	林	forest	two trees standing; also 任 (to appoint), separate line
Want these randomized? Korean name generator. Last-name mode draws this register with its hanja receipt.
Han	한	韓	old Korea	the classical name of the peninsula's state; also 漢
Shin	신	申	the state of Shen	also 辛 (sharp) and 愼 (careful), separate lines
Oh	오	吳	the state of Wu	the southern Chinese state line
Seo	서	徐	unhurried	the Dalsong line; steady conduct gloss
Kwon	권	權	power, authority	the Yecheon line leads
Jeon	전	全	whole	also 田 (field) and 秦 (the Qin line)
Hwang	황	黃	yellow	the Jangsu line leads
Ahn	안	安	peace	the Sunheung line leads
Song	송	宋	the state of Song	the Eunjin and Yeosan lines
Yang	양	梁	bridge, beam	also 楊 (poplar) and 良 (good), separate lines
Ham	함	咸	all, together	the Hamyang line
Gong	공	孔	Confucius' line	the surname of Confucius himself; the Gokbu line
Baek	백	白	white	also 百 (hundred), a separate register
Heo	허	許	to permit	the Gimhae and Yangcheon lines
Hong	홍	洪	flood, vast	the Namyang line
Nam	남	南	south	the Uiryeong line
Yu	유	劉	the Han imperial line	also 柳 (willow) and 兪, separate registers
Byeon	변	卞	eager, hurried	an old Zhou personal name; the Gongju line
Moon	문	文	letters, culture	the Nampyeong line; the scholar register
Son	손	孫	descendants	the Gyeongju line leads
Bae	배	裵	long robe of state	the Gyeongju line; the court-gown register
Sim	심	沈	deep water	the Cheongsong line; to sink, to be deep
No	노	盧	black; rice vessel	also 路 in rare lines
Ha	하	河	great river	the Jinju line
Seong	성	成	to accomplish	also 城 (castle) and 星 (star), separate registers
Gu	구	具	prepared, complete	the Neungseong line
Na	나	羅	net, silk gauze	the Naju line (羅州)
Joo	주	周	the Zhou line	also 朱 (vermilion), a separate register
Jin	진	陳	the state of Chen	also 眞 (true) and 秦, separate lines
Ma	마	馬	horse	the Changwon line
Woo	우	禹	Yu the Great	the flood-tamer of ancient China
Seok	석	石	stone	Goryeo-era founding lines; also 昔 and 錫
Tae	태	泰	peace, grand	the Yeongyang line; also 太 (great)
Won	원	源	springhead	the Wonju line; also 原 (field)
Seol	설	雪	snow	also 薛, a separate register
Cha	차	車	cart, carriage	the Yeongyang line leads
Eom	엄	嚴	stern, solemn	the Yeongwol line
Ye	예	芮	sprouting grass	a small old line, thin today
Wi	위	魏	the state of Wei	also 尉 and 韋, separate registers
Myeong	명	明	bright	the Yeonan line
Ban	반	潘	the Pan river	rice-water gloss; the Gwangju line
Bu	부	夫	man	the Jeju line
Chun	춘	春	spring	the Haeju line
Sa	사	史	history, scribe	also 謝 (to thank) and 泗, separate lines
Wang	왕	王	king	the Kaesong line, Goryeo royal blood
Yeon	연	燕	the state of Yan	also 連 (to join) and 延 (to extend)
Ok	옥	玉	jade	the Goksan line
On	온	溫	warm	the warmth gloss; a small line
Wan	완	完	complete	a small single-line surname
Yo	요	姚	fine, handsome	the surname of Emperor Shun
Eun	은	殷	the Yin dynasty	the old Shang line
Eum	음	陰	shade	the shady hillside gloss; a small line
Gwan	관	管	reed pipe, key	the Guan Zhong line
Gyeong	경	慶	blessing	also 景 (scenery) and 京 (capital), separate registers
Geum	금	琴	zither	the instrument line
Ki	기	奇	extraordinary	the rare-and-striking gloss
Dan	단	段	section	also 單 (single), a separate line
Dang	당	唐	the Tang dynasty	the old Chinese dynasty line
Do	도	道	the way	also 都 (capital), a separate register
Dong	동	董	to supervise	the overseer gloss
Mak	막	莫	none	an old negative word kept as a name
Sam	삼	參	three; ginseng	a small line, few households
Sang	상	尙	to esteem	also 常 (constant), a separate register
Seon	선	宣	to announce	also 鮮 (old Korea), a separate line
Seung	승	昇	to rise	also 承 (to inherit), a separate line
So	소	蘇	to revive	also 邵 and 蕭, separate registers
Sun	순	舜	Emperor Shun	also 淳 (pure), a separate register
Pyo	표	表	outer, tablet	a small scholarly line
Pung	풍	馮	to gallop	the horse-and-wind build
Hak	학	鶴	crane	the long-lived bird
Hyo	효	孝	filial piety	the Confucian virtue as a surname
Hwan	환	桓	pillar, mark	an old royal register syllable
Ho	호	胡	the northern people	also 浩 (vast), a separate line
Hyeon	현	玄	dark, deep	also 鉉, a separate register
Ae	애	艾	mugwort	the healing herb as a surname
Eo	어	魚	fish	the fisher register
Yong	용	龍	dragon	a small line of the dragon character
Guk	국	鞠	to nurture	an old fostering gloss
Ga	가	賈	merchant	the trade register
Gan	간	簡	bamboo slip	the simple-and-direct gloss
Gye	계	桂	laurel, cassia	the cassia line
Gon	곤	昆	elder brother	an old kinship word
Gwang	광	廣	wide	the breadth gloss
Bo	보	普	universal	the plain-and-universal gloss
Bong	봉	鳳	phoenix	the auspicious bird
Bin	빈	賓	guest	the honored-visitor gloss
In	인	印	seal, imprint	the document seal
Ja	자	慈	kind	the kindness gloss
Je	제	濟	to cross the water	also to aid, the crossing gloss
Jong	종	鍾	bell	also 宗 (lineage), a separate line
Chang	창	昌	prosperous	the flourishing gloss
Cheon	천	千	thousand	the great-number gloss
Cheong	청	淸	clear	the clean-water gloss
Cho	초	楚	the state of Chu	also 初 (first), a separate line
Chu	추	秋	autumn	the harvest season
Chi	치	治	to govern, to heal	the ruler's word
Taek	택	宅	home, lot	also 澤 (grace), a separate line
Po	포	包	to wrap	the bundle gloss
Heng	흥	興	to flourish	the rising-fortune gloss
Woon	운	雲	cloud	the sky register
Bok	복	福	blessing	the fortune gloss; a small line
Hwangbo	황보	皇甫	a two-syllable surname	one of the living double surnames
Jegal	제갈	諸葛	the Zhuge line	the strategist's surname, two syllables
Namgoong	남궁	南宮	south palace	the palace-direction double surname
Seonwoo	선우	鮮于	old Korea plus Yu	a double surname from antiquity
Dokgo	독고	獨孤	standing alone	a double surname, few bearers
Kang (姜)	강	姜	river-root line	its own register, separate from 康 Kang
Cho (曺)	조	曺	the Cao line	its own register, separate from 趙 Cho
Jeon (田)	전	田	field	its own register, separate from 全 Jeon
Jeon (秦)	전	秦	the Qin line	its own register, third of the Jeon writings
Lim (任)	임	任	to appoint	its own register, separate from 林 Lim
Han (漢)	한	漢	the Han river	its own register, separate from 韓 Han
Shin (辛)	신	辛	sharp, acrid	its own register, separate from 申 Shin
Jang (章)	장	章	emblem, chapter	its own register, separate from 張 Jang
Jang (莊)	장	莊	the philosopher's villa	the Zhuangzi line, third Jang writing
Yu (柳)	유	柳	willow	its own register, separate from 劉 Yu
Baek (百)	백	百	hundred	its own register, separate from 白 Baek
Seong (星)	성	星	star	its own register, separate from 成 Seong
Seong (城)	성	城	castle	its own register, third Seong writing
Tae (太)	태	太	great	its own register, separate from 泰 Tae
Seok (昔)	석	昔	former times	its own register, separate from 石 Seok
Seok (錫)	석	錫	tin; to bestow	its own register, third Seok writing
Jin (秦)	진	秦	the Qin line	its own register, separate from 陳 Jin
Jin (眞)	진	眞	true	its own register, third Jin writing
Won (原)	원	原	field, plain	its own register, separate from 源 Won
Do (都)	도	都	capital	its own register, separate from 道 Do
Seon (鮮)	선	鮮	old Korea	its own register, separate from 宣 Seon
Yeon (連)	연	連	to join	its own register, separate from 燕 Yeon
Yeon (延)	연	延	to extend	its own register, third Yeon writing
Sa (謝)	사	謝	to thank	its own register, separate from 史 Sa
Sun (淳)	순	淳	pure	its own register, separate from 舜 Sun
Sang (常)	상	常	constant	its own register, separate from 尙 Sang
Yang (楊)	양	楊	poplar	its own register, separate from 梁 Yang
Yang (良)	양	良	good	its own register, third Yang writing
Hwang (皇)	황	皇	imperial	its own register, separate from 黃 Hwang
Jung (丁)	정	丁	robust	its own register, separate from 鄭 Jung
Jung (程)	정	程	journey, measure	its own register, third Jung writing
Eun (銀)	은	銀	silver	its own register, sister to 殷 Eun
Gyeong (景)	경	景	scenery, light	its own register, separate from 慶 Gyeong
Wi (尉)	위	尉	military officer	its own register, separate from 魏 Wi

What is the most common Korean last name?

Kim 김 金. About one Korean in five carries it, roughly 21.5 percent of the population. Lee and Park follow, and the three together cover about 45 percent of the country. The top ten, in order:

The ten most common Korean last names
Rank	Name	Hangul and hanja	Meaning
1	Kim	김 金	gold, metal
2	Lee	이 李	plum tree
3	Park	박 朴	plain, unadorned
4	Choi	최 崔	lofty mountain
5	Jung	정 鄭	the state of Zheng
6	Kang	강 康	well-being
7	Cho	조 趙	the state of Zhao
8	Yoon	윤 尹	to govern, oversee
9	Jang	장 張	to draw a bow
10	Lim	임 林	forest

The order matches the master table above: one dataset, no contradictions.

How do Korean last names work?

The surname comes first, and it belongs to a clan, not just to a person. Kim Minjun reads Minjun of the Kim household, family name leading, no space between surname and given name in hangul.

The deeper unit is the bon-gwan, the clan branch: a named hometown register like Kimhae or Gyeongju that fixes which line of 김 you belong to. A Kimhae Kim and a Gyeongju Kim write the same surname and share no ancestor. Until 1997 the law even barred marriage inside the same bon-gwan; the Constitutional Court struck that down, and the register stayed.

Two more conventions hold. The writing is fixed per household: one family line, one hanja, passed down as-is. And women keep their birth surname for life: there is no shared marital surname in Korean law. The everyday word for the family name is seong.

What do Korean last names mean?

Mostly nature, old states, and character words, one hanja each. Korean surnames are almost all single characters, so the meaning is the character's dictionary sense, plus the clan story behind it. The facets below slice the master table by origin family, the same grouping that runs through the whole register.

Nature meanings: river, snow, stone

Korean last names built on nature hanja
Last name	Hanja	Meaning	Family line
Ha	河	great river	the Jinju line
Seol	雪	snow	also 薛, a separate register
Seok	石	stone	Goryeo-era founding lines; also 昔 and 錫
Baek	白	white	also 百 (hundred), a separate register
Yang	梁	bridge, beam	also 楊 (poplar) and 良 (good), separate lines

Old-state meanings: Zheng, Zhao, Song

Korean last names built on old Chinese state names
Last name	Hanja	Meaning	Family line
Jung	鄭	the state of Zheng	also written 丁 (robust) and 程 (journey), each its own register
Cho	趙	the state of Zhao	also written 曺, a separate register
Song	宋	the state of Song	the Eunjin and Yeosan lines
Jin	陳	the state of Chen	also 眞 (true) and 秦, separate lines
Oh	吳	the state of Wu	the southern Chinese state line

Character meanings: peace, well-being, authority

Korean last names built on virtue and register words
Last name	Hanja	Meaning	Family line
Ahn	安	peace	the Sunheung line leads
Kang	康	well-being	also 姜 and 强, separate clan lines
Kwon	權	power, authority	the Yecheon line leads
Moon	文	letters, culture	the Nampyeong line; the scholar register
Hong	洪	flood, vast	the Namyang line

The given-name side of the system, two hanja chosen per child, is tabled at Korean names and their meanings.

Why do Kim, Lee and Park cover half the country?

Because the clan system multiplies a surname instead of splitting it. The concentration is the single most Korean fact about Korean surnames, so here is the receipt:

The surname concentration, national census shares
Rank	Surname	Hangul and hanja	Share of the population
1	Kim	김 金	about 21.5 percent
2	Lee	이 李	about 14.7 percent
3	Park	박 朴	about 8.4 percent
4	Choi	최 崔	about 4.7 percent
5	Jung	정 鄭	about 4.4 percent

Add the top three and you reach about 45 percent. Two forces built that: surnames were adopted late and from a small elite register, and the bon-gwan system then kept every branch distinct under the same character for centuries. More surnames never entered common use, so the pyramid never widened. About 280 surnames cover the whole country; the rest of the register is a long, thin tail.

Where the generation stone begins

The clan register also shapes given names. Many bon-gwan kept a row of generation characters, the hangnyeol, and children of one generation took the same syllable: the dollimja, or generation stone. Three cousins named Ji-hun, Ji-ho and Ji-hyeon announce their generation with the shared 지.

The custom is the bridge between this page and the given-name system. The Korean name generator shows it in action: draw a family, and matching first syllables sort themselves into kin. The syllable banks behind it are tabled on the meanings page.

What are rare Korean last names?

The two-syllable surnames are the famous rarities, and a handful of single-syllable lines sit even thinner. Six receipts, each with the reason it stands out:

Rare surnames: every writing attested.

Rare Korean last names and why they are rare
Name	Hangul	Hanja	Meaning	Why it's rare
Namgoong	남궁	南宮	south palace	two-syllable surname, a few thousand bearers
Jegal	제갈	諸葛	the Zhuge line	the strategist's surname, famously rare
Seonwoo	선우	鮮于	old Korea plus Yu	double surname from antiquity
Dokgo	독고	獨孤	standing alone	double surname, thinnest line of the five
Hwangbo	황보	皇甫	imperial marker	double surname, small register
Sam	삼	參	three; ginseng	single-syllable surname, few hundred households

The rare-surname story continues across cultures on the rare last names page.

How do Korean last names differ from Japanese ones?

Same surname-first order, opposite concentration. Korea runs a short register; Japan runs one of the longest in the world.

Korean versus Japanese surname systems
Attribute	Korean	Japanese
Diversity	about 280 surnames in use	over 100,000 surnames
Concentration	top three cover about 45 percent	top surname under 2 percent
Structure	one hanja per surname, clan register behind it	kanji compounds, often places
Most common	Kim 金	Sato 佐藤
After marriage	each spouse keeps their surname	the couple shares one surname by law

Neighbors, different shapes. The Japanese side of the comparison lives at Japanese last names.

Can you generate a Korean last name?

Yes, two ways. The Korean name generator has a last-name mode: every draw is a surname from this register, hanja receipt attached. Or run the last name generator with a Korean filter when you're naming across cultures and want the filter in one place.

Open these in the generator. Every draw keeps its hanja receipt, and the kept-names shelf holds your shortlist for the session.

Korean name generator

Korean last name questions, answered

How many Korean last names exist?

About 280 are in general use. Count every hanja writing and clan branch in the census tally and the figure runs into the thousands, but most of those lines hold only a handful of households. The long tail is real, and it is thin.

What is the rarest Korean surname?

The two-syllable surnames: Namgoong 남궁, Jegal 제갈, Seonwoo 선우, Dokgo 독고 and Hwangbo 황보. Each counts a few thousand people or fewer. Single-syllable rarities like Sam 삼 and Bok 복 sit even thinner. The rare table above rows them with receipts.

Why are there so many Kims?

Because Kim is many clans, not one family. More than 350 bon-gwan branches write 김 金, and a Kimhae Kim shares no ancestor with a Gyeongju Kim. The surname spread as clans adopted written names, and the concentration held because the clan system kept lines distinct instead of merging them.

Do Korean women keep their last names after marriage?

Yes. Korean law keeps every person's birth surname. There is no shared marital surname: a wife keeps hers, a husband keeps his, and children conventionally take the father's. Two surnames in one household is the normal shape.

Where this data comes from. Surnames, hanja and clan lines are compiled from published Korean surname references and national census surname counts; the commonness order tracks the census. Multiple writings get their own row, and thin or contested lines are flagged in the data. Where these names come from →