• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 11:48
CEST 17:48
KST 00:48
  • 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
Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2914Serral wins Maestros of the Game 243ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12
Community News
Neeb returns to progaming; rejoins ONSYDE12Weekly Cups (July 20-26): Early returns on 5.0.16b8IntoTheTV X SOOP SC2 League : Weekly & Monthly4Clem: "I don't have that much hope in Blizzard"9ZeroSpace Early Access is Now Live!42
StarCraft 2
General
Clem: "I don't have that much hope in Blizzard" Neeb returns to progaming; rejoins ONSYDE Weekly Cups (July 20-26): Early returns on 5.0.16b Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) Terran or Protoss
Tourneys
RSL Revival: Season 6 - Qualifiers and Main Event PIG STY FESTIVAL 8.0! (13 - 23 August) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament IntoTheTV X SOOP SC2 League : Weekly & Monthly INu's Battles#18 - Cure, herO, Rogue & ByuN
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
Mutation # 536 Railroad Switch The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 535 Assembly of Vengeance Mutation # 534 Burning Evacuation
Brood War
General
Making an Online Broodwar Manager Game BW General Discussion ASL22 General Discussion screpdb: new Starcraft reporting tool ASL 22 Proposed Map Pool
Tourneys
2v2v2v2 Tournament [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Star Con San Diego 2026 Escore Tournament - Season 3
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Simple Questions, Simple Answers PvT advise for noobs
Other Games
General Games
Path of Exile ZeroSpace Early Access is Now Live! Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread General RTS Discussion Thread
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread US Politics Mega-thread Artificial Intelligence Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread How to buy a book - shipping from Korea to Europe
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club The HerO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! Series you have seen recently... [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread 2026-27 Football Thread placeholder TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Simple Questions Simple Answers FPS when play League Of Legend on laptop
TL Community
Northern Ireland Global Starcraft The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Games, Hormones, and "Dark" …
TrAiDoS
Hello guys!
LIN1s
ASL S22 English Commentary…
namkraft
Poker (part 2)
Nebuchad
An Exploration of th…
waywardstrategy
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 21286 users

Korean name question?

Blogs > MechKing
Post a Reply
MechKing
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States3004 Posts
June 21 2011 06:53 GMT
#1
I've been kinda confused about Korean names. Do they have two last names or something? Or a middle name? Let's take Nestea's name, Lim Jae Duk. Is Lim his first name and then Jae and Duk are his family names or something? I'm stupid lol

*
don_kyuhote
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
3007 Posts
June 21 2011 06:55 GMT
#2
Lim = last name
Jae Duk = first name
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
ShadowDrgn
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States2497 Posts
June 21 2011 06:56 GMT
#3
Last name, First name, "Middle name"
Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that’s the end of you.
krndandaman
Profile Joined August 2009
Mozambique16569 Posts
June 21 2011 07:01 GMT
#4
--- Nuked ---
The_LiNk
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Canada863 Posts
June 21 2011 07:05 GMT
#5
Jaeduk is his given name. Jae and Duk are separate characters. First is always the family name followed by the given name. Most Asian cultures have 3 character names, though there are 2 character named (single character given names). I'm not sure if Koreans have single character names though.
krndandaman
Profile Joined August 2009
Mozambique16569 Posts
June 21 2011 07:18 GMT
#6
--- Nuked ---
IntoTheWow
Profile Blog Joined May 2004
is awesome32280 Posts
June 21 2011 07:19 GMT
#7
On June 21 2011 16:05 The_LiNk wrote:
Jaeduk is his given name. Jae and Duk are separate characters. First is always the family name followed by the given name. Most Asian cultures have 3 character names, though there are 2 character named (single character given names). I'm not sure if Koreans have single character names though.


They have. I have seen some in BW pros, but they are not common.

Example: Nal_rA : 강 민 Kang Min
Moderator<:3-/-<
LosingID8
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
CA10835 Posts
June 21 2011 07:20 GMT
#8
Korean names are family name first, given name second. The family name is usually one syllable but there are a couple rare 2-syllable last names like nam-goong. Korean given names are usually two syllables but it wouldn't be considered weird to have a 1 syllable given name. Koreans do not use middle names, although oftentimes Koreans living in other countries will use their Korean name as their middle name.
ModeratorResident K-POP Elitist
Funnytoss
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
Taiwan1471 Posts
June 21 2011 07:20 GMT
#9
On June 21 2011 16:19 IntoTheWow wrote:
Show nested quote +
On June 21 2011 16:05 The_LiNk wrote:
Jaeduk is his given name. Jae and Duk are separate characters. First is always the family name followed by the given name. Most Asian cultures have 3 character names, though there are 2 character named (single character given names). I'm not sure if Koreans have single character names though.


They have. I have seen some in BW pros, but they are not common.

Example: Nal_rA : 강 민 Kang Min


Whew, I was about to post but I decided to refresh just in case since I figured someone would probably post Nal_rA before me.
AIV_Funnytoss and sGs.Funnytoss on iCCup
Disregard
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
China10252 Posts
June 21 2011 07:50 GMT
#10
Exactly the same with Chinese names. Take a random Chinese name like Zhao Ying Jun, the surname is Zhao while Ying Jun is the first name. But with Western customary they just assume Ying is the first name, however, within a family that part is very common.

If one were to get mail in the States, its confusing. D:
"If I had to take a drug in order to be free, I'm screwed. Freedom exists in the mind, otherwise it doesn't exist."
SnowFantasy
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
4173 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-06-21 08:14:54
June 21 2011 08:14 GMT
#11
On June 21 2011 16:19 IntoTheWow wrote:
Show nested quote +
On June 21 2011 16:05 The_LiNk wrote:
Jaeduk is his given name. Jae and Duk are separate characters. First is always the family name followed by the given name. Most Asian cultures have 3 character names, though there are 2 character named (single character given names). I'm not sure if Koreans have single character names though.


They have. I have seen some in BW pros, but they are not common.

Example: Nal_rA : 강 민 Kang Min


I don't think he is talking about that. He means one syllable full names.

Instead of "강민" "강" or "민".
kaleidoscope
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Singapore2887 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-06-21 08:48:34
June 21 2011 08:40 GMT
#12
most of the koreans have their name system similar to the Chinese;
surname + 2 characters
and their surname is always hanja (aka able to be written in chinese characters)

there are some people with surname + 1 character,
and also increasing trend of people with 2 characters surname (there are, but very very very few)

edit: there are no middle name, if it's 2 characters (excluding surname), they belong to first name
대지따라 돌린게 시간이다.. 흘러가고 돌아오지도 않고..
Caphe
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
Vietnam10817 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-06-21 08:55:25
June 21 2011 08:49 GMT
#13
Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese names are all the same with Family name/first name pattern. Its confused for Westerner but hey Westerners names are confused as hell for me :D

Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese names can all be written in Chinese characters. So the Chinese read Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese names in the tones of the Chinese characters.

For example, Park Ji Sung, a very famous football(soccer) player from SK is called Piao Zhi Xing in Chinese.

The first names in East Asia country usually mean something, some time very great things :D. We don't name ourself after our senior, its kind of forbidden to name your kid the same name as your farther lol.

In some Korean family, they actually have the same name for each generation O_O. I have 2 korean friends name Park Se Jun and Park Hyn Jun cos they are brothers, and their generation have to take the name Jun.
Terran
ShloobeR
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
Korea (South)3830 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-06-21 10:21:27
June 21 2011 10:16 GMT
#14
Korean names are split into 한자 (hanja) names and 한글 names.

한자 names are by far the most common and originate from chinese characters, typically with some deep meaning, Hanja names are usually a 1 symbol surname and a 2 symbol given name (but there are variations, given names can be 1 or more and family names can rarely be 2)

Since the variety of Hanja for your typical Hangeul name is so wide, people with identical names in Korean could have completely different names in Chinese. (at least meaning-wise)

한글 names are more of a new trend, most commonly used for Christian names. It's typically the younger generations you will see with this kind of name.

In writing order the family name always comes first.

There is actually a lot of tradition when it comes to naming, with specialist 'name creators' being paid quite a lot of money to create a specific and personal Hanja name for the child (often using their 사주), additionally as posters above mentioned, more traditional korean families will also have 'generational characters' which are characters shared generation per generation, usually alternating between the first and second characters. This can sometimes be a repeating cycle of characters going through many many generations, aditionally, women usually do not have this.

probably more than you asked for sorry : (
: o )
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
13:00
King of the Hill #257
WardiTV766
EmpressLilyy26
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ByuN 513
ProTech79
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 42604
Calm 7222
EffOrt 1201
Soma 560
Shuttle 381
Soulkey 363
Snow 313
BeSt 274
Rush 203
hero 122
[ Show more ]
Killer 98
ggaemo 73
Sharp 71
Hyun 70
JYJ 53
Mind 48
ToSsGirL 41
Shine 31
Sexy 31
scan(afreeca) 31
HiyA 30
Terrorterran 26
zelot 11
IntoTheRainbow 11
Dewaltoss 11
Mong 1
Dota 2
Gorgc7113
qojqva784
Dendi708
League of Legends
Trikslyr28
Counter-Strike
fl0m3960
x6flipin567
Other Games
FrodaN2580
singsing1642
hiko862
B2W.Neo647
Mlord566
DeMusliM295
ToD211
uThermal192
crisheroes153
QueenE67
BananaSlamJamma55
XaKoH 53
Organizations
StarCraft 2
TaKeTV 14
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 3126
• WagamamaTV484
League of Legends
• Nemesis2861
Other Games
• Shiphtur18
Upcoming Events
Patches Events
1h 12m
Reynor vs Solar
ByuN vs TBD
OSC
1h 42m
Replay Cast
8h 12m
Escore
18h 12m
CrankTV Team League
19h 12m
OSC
1d 6h
Replay Cast
1d 8h
Afreeca Starleague
1d 12h
RSL Revival
1d 17h
ByuN vs SHIN
Solar vs Lambo
WardiTV Summer Champion…
1d 19h
[ Show More ]
Afreeca Starleague
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
Clem vs Serral
herO vs Rogue
WardiTV Summer Champion…
2 days
WardiTV Weekly
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
PiGosaur Cup
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Kung Fu Cup
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
The PondCast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-07-29
SCTL 2026 Spring
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale

Ongoing

CSL 2026 Summer (S21)
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
RSL Revival: Season 6
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S3: W5
ASL Season 22: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 22: Qualifier #2
Acropolis #5
Escore Tournament S3: W6
Escore Tournament S3: W7
Escore Tournament S3: W8
HSC XXX
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
Light Tournament 2026
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
Logitech G Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 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.