Myung, also spelled Myeong, Myong, or Myoung, is a Korean family name, a single-syllable Korean given name, and an element in some two-syllable Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.

Myung
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationMyeong
McCune–ReischauerMyŏng

Family name edit

The surname Myeong is derived from the Chinese surname Ming, written with the hanja , meaning "bright" or "brilliance".[1] The 2000 South Korean census estimated that 26,746 people had this family name.[2] In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 62.1% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Myung in their passports. The Revised Romanisation spelling Myeong was in second place at 18.9%, while another 16.2% used the spelling Myoung. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 2.8%) included Myeoung.[3]

People with this family name include:

Given name edit

Hanja edit

There are 19 hanja with the reading "myeong" on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.[4]

  1. (이름 명 ireum myeong): "name"
  2. (목숨 명 moksum myeong): "life"
  3. (밝을 명 balgeul myeong): "bright"
  4. (울 명 ul myeong): "cry", "chirp"
  5. (새길 명 saegil myeong): "inscription"
  6. (바다 명 bada myeong): "sea"
  7. (저물 명 jeomul myeong): "to darken"
  8. (홈통 명 homtong myeong): "drainpipe"
  9. (그릇 명 geureut myeong): "dish"
  10. (눈 감을 명 nun gameul myeong): "to close one's eyes"
  11. (차 싹 명 cha ssak myeong): "tea plant"
  12. (명협 명 myeonghyeop myeong):
  13. (멸구 명 myeolgu myeong): "leafhopper"
  14. (술 취할 명 sul chwihal myeong): "drunk"
  15. (너그러울 명 neogeureoul myeong): "generous"
  16. (강 이름 명 gang ireum myeong): name of a river
  17. (밝을 명 balgeul myeong): "bright"
  18. (초명새 명 chomyeongsae myeong): a legendary bird
  19. (어두울 명 eoduul myeong): "dark"

People edit

People with the single-syllable given name Myung include:

  • Yun Myeong (fl. 15th century), Joseon Dynasty scholar-official

As name element edit

One name containing this element, Myung-sook, was the fifth-most popular name for newborn girls in South Korea in 1950.[5] Names containing this element include:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "한국성씨일람" [List of Korean family names]. Kyungpook National University. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  2. ^ "성씨인구분포데이터" [Family name population and distribution data]. South Korea: National Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  3. ^ 성씨 로마자 표기 방안: 마련을 위한 토론회 [Plan for romanisation of surnames: a preparatory discussion]. National Institute of the Korean Language. 25 June 2009. p. 58. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  4. ^ "인명용 한자표" [Table of hanja for use in personal names] (PDF). South Korea: Supreme Court. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  5. ^ "한국인이 가장 줗아하는 이름은 무엇일까?". babyname.co.kr. Retrieved 2012-11-09.