Korean Names
Korean given names are usually two syllables, each chosen for its hanja meaning — which romanize into short, bright names like Jun, Yuna, and Jio. U.S. counts run small: many Korean-American families place these as middle names, and the same name can romanize several ways. Rare here means rare on American paperwork, not rare in Seoul.
| Save name | Name & connection | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A short, international favorite — and a K-pop standard. | 491#597 | Up 64 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
'One' in Korean — also 'flower' in Japanese. | 436#658 | Up 98 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
'Glass, crystal' — a Girls' Generation name. | 139#1,533 | Up 57 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
'Beautiful, graceful' in modern Korean. | 48#3,255 | Down 322 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
A Korean nickname for 'eagle' — famous stateside via the Cruises. | 100#1,940 | Down 354 rank positions in five years | 2012 | ||
A soft modern coinage, roughly 'graceful one'. | 51#3,162 | Up 431 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Skating legend Kim Yuna carried it onto world podiums. | 271#952 | Up 488 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
A modern favorite — 'beautiful' and 'good' in its usual hanja. | 112#1,802 | Up 601 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
The Korean rendering of John. | 158#1,259 | Up 762 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
'Conch shell' in Korean; 'sky' in Japanese. | 99#1,959 | Up 255 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
'Talent' — a classic name syllable on its own. | 42#2,955 | Down 180 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
'Talented, handsome' — the workhorse syllable of Korean boys' names. | 39#3,106 | Up 1,103 rank positions in five years | 2003 | ||
'Brilliant' — and Stray Kids' bandleader. | 7#9,881 | new | 1986 | ||
'Great' — and the river Seoul is built on. | 18#5,280 | Down 816 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
A single-syllable standout — Yul Brynner wore it first in America. | 5#13,861 | Down 4,336 rank positions in five years | 1960 | ||
'Lily' in Korean. | 43#3,558 | Up 1,063 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
The same jun, romanized the American way. | 19#5,115 | Up 6,132 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
'Great' — the tae of Taeyang and taekwondo. | 10#8,166 | new | 2000 | ||
A fast-rising favorite among Seoul's newest boys. | 19#5,112 | Up 2,660 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
The Korean word for 'love' itself. | 7#12,954 | new | 2022 | ||
A unisex modern favorite in Seoul. | 7#12,482 | Up 253 rank positions in five years | 2012 | ||
One of Seoul's top boys' names of the 2010s. | 7#10,522 | new | 2025 | ||
'Precious' plus 'excellent' — a modern standard. | 11#7,391 | new | 2025 | ||
'Bright' plus 'great' — SHINee put it on stage. | —Unranked | — | 2024 |
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Sources & methodology
Meaning summaries use Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and referenced name histories. Each name’s detail page includes its sources.
Membership on this list is editorial — we chose names that genuinely fit the theme. Every number is from official birth data: "—" means the name had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, which makes it a genuinely rare pick today, not an invalid one. The dot marks whether the stats shown are for the girls' or boys' use of the name.