• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 04:34
CET 10:34
KST 18:34
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview10Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info3herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational14SC2 All-Star Invitational: Tournament Preview5RSL Revival - 2025 Season Finals Preview8
Community News
Weekly Cups (Jan 19-25): Bunny, Trigger, MaxPax win3Weekly Cups (Jan 12-18): herO, MaxPax, Solar win0BSL Season 2025 - Full Overview and Conclusion8Weekly Cups (Jan 5-11): Clem wins big offline, Trigger upsets4$21,000 Rongyi Cup Season 3 announced (Jan 22-Feb 7)38
StarCraft 2
General
HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview StarCraft 2 Not at the Esports World Cup 2026 Weekly Cups (Jan 19-25): Bunny, Trigger, MaxPax win Oliveira Would Have Returned If EWC Continued herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational
Tourneys
HomeStory Cup 28 KSL Week 85 $21,000 Rongyi Cup Season 3 announced (Jan 22-Feb 7) OSC Season 13 World Championship $70 Prize Pool Ladder Legends Academy Weekly Open!
Strategy
Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
[A] Starcraft Sound Mod
External Content
Mutation # 510 Safety Violation Mutation # 509 Doomsday Report Mutation # 508 Violent Night Mutation # 507 Well Trained
Brood War
General
Bleak Future After Failed ProGaming Career [ASL21] Potential Map Candidates BW General Discussion Potential ASL qualifier breakthroughs? BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 Azhi's Colosseum - Season 2 [BSL21] Non-Korean Championship - Starts Jan 10
Strategy
Zealot bombing is no longer popular? Simple Questions, Simple Answers Current Meta Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Path of Exile Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club! The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
How Esports Advertising Shap…
TrAiDoS
My 2025 Magic: The Gathering…
DARKING
Life Update and thoughts.
FuDDx
How do archons sleep?
8882
James Bond movies ranking - pa…
Topin
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1575 users

Korean names

Blogs > Guss
Post a Reply
Normal
Guss
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Sweden712 Posts
August 15 2010 19:57 GMT
#1
help me out i dont understand. First of all i understand they have 3 names, like Xellos; Seo Ji Hoon. Seo is the family name but then the other two are confusing. Tossgirl is called Seo Ji Soo. Seo again the family name, but then the second name is the same. Someone explain the last two names.

Bisu[Shield] FIGHTING!
Catch]22
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Sweden2683 Posts
August 15 2010 19:59 GMT
#2
they are just names, and they have 3 instead of 2, I'm pretty sure you have a second name aswell, i know most of us swedes do, but we rarely use it, these guys do, whats so confusing?
Guss
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Sweden712 Posts
August 15 2010 20:01 GMT
#3
how can they have the same second name, is Ji a name like swedish Kim that can go both ways?
Bisu[Shield] FIGHTING!
prototype.
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Canada4215 Posts
August 15 2010 20:03 GMT
#4
the second and third is the first name
( ・´ー・`)
Guss
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Sweden712 Posts
August 15 2010 20:05 GMT
#5
same with Kang Min, is he just a rare breed that doesnt have a "second" first name?
Bisu[Shield] FIGHTING!
baller
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
527 Posts
August 15 2010 20:06 GMT
#6
On August 16 2010 05:01 Guss wrote:
how can they have the same second name, is Ji a name like swedish Kim that can go both ways?

sometimes names can be boy and girl both

like imagine someone is named "michael jordan" and someone else is named "michelle obama" but instead of "michelle" she was named "michael obama" but still a woman. also imagine that michael is a name that can be both boy and girl.

ur welcome.
mesobored123
Profile Joined March 2010
United States62 Posts
August 15 2010 20:07 GMT
#7
Like you said the first is the last name/family name and for 2nd and 3rd its their first name. For Kang Min his first name is just the 2nd. When Korean choose their name it's usually 1 syllable or 2 but mostly 2.
Guss
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Sweden712 Posts
August 15 2010 20:10 GMT
#8
ok i got it now, thank you for clearing that up.
Bisu[Shield] FIGHTING!
Ares[Effort] *
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
DEMACIA6550 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-15 20:21:09
August 15 2010 20:15 GMT
#9
On August 16 2010 05:06 baller wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 16 2010 05:01 Guss wrote:
how can they have the same second name, is Ji a name like swedish Kim that can go both ways?

sometimes names can be boy and girl both

like imagine someone is named "michael jordan" and someone else is named "michelle obama" but instead of "michelle" she was named "michael obama" but still a woman. also imagine that michael is a name that can be both boy and girl.

ur welcome.

Lol, wow
Moderatorgold coin
MorningMusume11
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
United States3490 Posts
August 15 2010 20:19 GMT
#10
+ Show Spoiler +

The Kang Min type names aren't that rare actually (the two names)
There are some cases where the have more than three (Kpop reference... Sandara Park 박산다라
Even rarer... the last name might have two of em... like Hwang Bo
Entropic
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Canada2837 Posts
August 15 2010 20:19 GMT
#11
I have 2 first names. And apparently Swedes do too.
MaRiNe23
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States747 Posts
August 15 2010 20:28 GMT
#12
Nal_rA's "second" first name is "iny" So bascailly they call him "minny" hyung instead of "Min hyung" But that "iny" can go together with any korean name. Like boxer's name is "Lim Yohwan" so they would call him "yohwan-e" hyung. This might be a bit confusing but just tell me if u need more explanation.

And for the tossgirl thing, her name is Seo Ji Soo as you said. "Seo" is her last name and her first name would be "Ji-Soo"..a two syllabal word. Same as Thomas..it's two syllabus can be broken down to Tah-mus in korean.
We have competitive ladder, strong community, progaming in Korea going strong, perfectly balanced game..why do we need sc2? #1 ANTI-SC2 fan
The_Pacifist
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States540 Posts
August 15 2010 20:29 GMT
#13
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is all one name.

What I don't understand is why the English translation of Korean names makes it so that a two syllable word ends up being turned into a 2 word name. Each Korean character "chunk" is only a syllable, not necessarily a word, but for Korean names being translated into English, each syllable gets treated as if it were its own word. I wonder why.

Name: Albert Rhodes
Translated Name: Al Bert Rhodes

Just seems more confusing to me.
Piste
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
6181 Posts
August 15 2010 20:29 GMT
#14
I have three first names + a surname. Yippii.
MaRiNe23
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States747 Posts
August 15 2010 20:30 GMT
#15
It's not actually 3 names though if you think about it because The first is the last name because koreans put last names at the beginning then the other two names are bascially their first name broken into syllables as I explained above
We have competitive ladder, strong community, progaming in Korea going strong, perfectly balanced game..why do we need sc2? #1 ANTI-SC2 fan
Hesmyrr
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Canada5776 Posts
August 15 2010 20:34 GMT
#16
Syllables. Let's say Steven. You pronounce it Ste*ven. Same principle; their name is Kangmin but it is pronounced as Kang*min
"If watching the MSL finals makes you a progamer, then anyone in Korea can do it." - Ha Tae Ki
MaRiNe23
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States747 Posts
August 15 2010 20:53 GMT
#17
On August 16 2010 05:34 Hesmyrr wrote:
Syllables. Let's say Steven. You pronounce it Ste*ven. Same principle; their name is Kangmin but it is pronounced as Kang*min

No, Nal_rA has a special korean name in that it's only a "one-syllable" name. "Kang" is his last name so although commentators might say "Kang Min sun soo," normal dongsengs would just call him "minny hyung"..just read what i posted above.
We have competitive ladder, strong community, progaming in Korea going strong, perfectly balanced game..why do we need sc2? #1 ANTI-SC2 fan
l10f *
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States3241 Posts
August 15 2010 20:54 GMT
#18
ForGG and Tossgirl have the same name :D
Writer
Ilikestarcraft
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Korea (South)17733 Posts
August 15 2010 20:58 GMT
#19
On August 16 2010 05:54 l10f wrote:
ForGG and Tossgirl have the same name :D

l10f has the same name as also iron and soulkey
"Nana is a goddess. Or at very least, Nana is my goddess." - KazeHydra
fabiano
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Brazil4644 Posts
August 15 2010 21:02 GMT
#20
On August 16 2010 05:29 The_Pacifist wrote:
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is all one name.


You think thats long? You sure dont know the name of the 32th King of Portugal:

Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Vítor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão de Bragança Sabóia Bourbon Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha

:D
"When the geyser died, a probe came out" - SirJolt
Parabola
Profile Joined May 2010
Korea (South)111 Posts
August 15 2010 21:08 GMT
#21
good ol' bourbon
The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.
imBLIND
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States2626 Posts
August 15 2010 21:08 GMT
#22
I don't know if korean names work the same way chinese names do, but most asian people i know have a surname, a generation name, and the 'first' name.
Usually, kids in the same family will share the surname and the generation name and only have different first names.
im deaf
seRapH
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States9783 Posts
August 15 2010 21:17 GMT
#23
On August 16 2010 06:08 imBLIND wrote:
I don't know if korean names work the same way chinese names do, but most asian people i know have a surname, a generation name, and the 'first' name.
Usually, kids in the same family will share the surname and the generation name and only have different first names.

yes it works the same way. as does japanese names.

not sure about southeast asian names, though. no idea how those work
boomer hands
Kyuukyuu
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Canada6263 Posts
August 15 2010 22:16 GMT
#24
Generation names aren't really in use anymore
SanguineToss
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada815 Posts
August 15 2010 22:35 GMT
#25
Generation names are in the discretion of the parents ( like any given name)

the korean name is very unique ( just like any other name) and has great meaning within each charachter.

Usually there are three characters.

[ X ] [ Y] [ Z ]

again, there could be more but it is very common for their to be just 3.

X = the last name, i.e. Kim, , Lee, Park etc
Y and Z = These are the two other places for charachters. You pretty much as a korean parent put anything you want in there that doesn't sound stupid. ( im sorry i dont know how to explain this because im not a korean parent and dont really know whats stupid and whats not) what is really common is putting names from han mun which is the chinese charachters which mean something... sorry its not a good explanation i know.

there are a lot of 'combinations' you can make out of these two name boxes. You can even flip Y and Z around, again in the discretion of the parent.

so in the end every parent names their child something like

X= Lim
Y= Yo
Z= Hwan

= Lim Yo Hwan
the emperor is born
Normal
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 2h 26m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SortOf 295
BRAT_OK 124
StarCraft: Brood War
Bisu 719
Larva 428
Jaedong 410
PianO 343
actioN 238
Hyuk 211
ZerO 159
Dewaltoss 98
ToSsGirL 62
ZergMaN 51
[ Show more ]
Shuttle 49
Backho 37
HiyA 26
EffOrt 22
NaDa 22
Noble 22
zelot 18
Bale 12
soO 8
Terrorterran 7
Dota 2
XaKoH 521
NeuroSwarm128
League of Legends
JimRising 563
Other Games
gofns11186
WinterStarcraft590
C9.Mang0363
ceh9334
crisheroes196
ZerO(Twitch)7
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick805
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• LUISG 3
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota236
League of Legends
• Jankos1836
• Stunt461
Upcoming Events
HomeStory Cup
2h 26m
Replay Cast
14h 26m
HomeStory Cup
1d 3h
Replay Cast
1d 14h
Replay Cast
2 days
Wardi Open
3 days
WardiTV Invitational
4 days
The PondCast
5 days
WardiTV Invitational
5 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S1: W6
OSC Championship Season 13
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

CSL 2025 WINTER (S19)
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Acropolis #4 - TS4
Rongyi Cup S3
HSC XXVIII
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual
eXTREMESLAND 2025
SL Budapest Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S1: W7
Escore Tournament S1: W8
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League Season 23
ESL Pro League Season 23
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.