About korean names
One-syllable surnames anchor two-syllable given pairs, as in "Yi Young-Jae" and "No Eun-Joo", with romanizations like "Ch'oe Sung-Soo" hinting at older transcription systems. The structure works for both historical drama casts and present-day Seoul characters, since it has barely shifted in centuries. Match siblings by repeating one syllable of the given name, a real generational convention.
How korean names are built
Each name is a surname followed by a two-token given name, with the given name drawn from the male or female bank as chosen. The 186-entry surname bank feeds both given banks (280 male, 377 female), producing names like Choe Soo-Hee, Suh Yong-Joon and Yo Young-Mi.
Choe Soo-Hee
Choe (surname, leads) + Soo-Hee (given, female bank, hyphen-joined as stored)
Suh Yong-Joon
Suh (surname, leads) + Yong-Joon (given, male bank, hyphen-joined as stored)
Yo Young-Mi
Yo (surname, leads) + Young-Mi (given, female bank, hyphen-joined as stored)
Naming notes
The surname slot leads, and the given slot holds a hyphen-joined two-part form as stored (Soo-Hee, Yong-Joon, Young-Mi). The 186-entry surname bank is shared by both given banks. The bank includes both systematically romanized surnames and eleven common attested alternates such as Lee, Park, Choi and Yoo. Use this as a Korean label needing surname-first order.
Questions about korean names
- Why is the given name hyphenated?
- The given banks store two-part forms joined with a hyphen as stored, such as Soo-Hee or Yong-Joon, and the surname slot leads before that given name.
- Why do some surnames look like familiar spellings and others not?
- The 186-entry surname bank mixes systematically romanized forms with eleven common attested alternates like Lee, Park, Choi and Yoo, so both kinds appear.
- How was gender assigned to given names?
- Gender came from explicit wording in Wikipedia article extracts, and any shortfall was filled by composing syllable pairs already attested in that gender's names, giving 280 male and 377 female entries.