Korean Last Names With Meaning

The History of Korean Last Names

Korean last names have a rich history dating back to the Silla Dynasty (57 BC - 935 AD). During this period, surnames were used to identify individuals and their families. The practice continued through the Goryeo Dynasty (918 - 1392 AD) and the Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1910 AD), with surnames becoming more widespread and complex.

Common Korean Last Names

Some of the most common Korean Korean Surnames include:

SMITH – A smith is a craftsman and was used as an occupational title for many different crafts.

JOHNSON – Son of John.

WILLIAMS – Son or family of William.

BROWN – Surname from a nickname for someone with a dark complexion or hair.

JONES – From the family of Jon/John.

GARCIA – Of unknown meaning.

MILLER – Occupational surname for someone who worked in a mill. Grain, wood, etc.

DAVIS – Son of David.

RODRIGUEZ – Son of Rodrigo.

MARTINEZ – Son of Martin.

HERNANDEZ – Son of Hernando.

LOPEZ – Son of Lope/Lobe, meaning “wolf.”

GONZALEZ – Son of Gonzalo.

WILSON – Son of William.

ANDERSON – Son of Andrew.

THOMAS – Son of Thomas.

TAYLOR – From the family of the tailor.

MOORE – A family who lived near a marsh or bog.

JACKSON – Son of Jack/John.

MARTIN – From the god of Mars.

LEE – Family who lived in or near an open meadow or clearing.

PEREZ – Son of Pedro (Pedrez/Perez).

THOMPSON – Son of Thomas.

WHITE – A family of light complexion or hair.

HARRIS – Son of Harry.

SANCHEZ – Son of Sancho.

CLARK – Occupational surname for a clerk.

RAMIREZ – Son of Ramiro.

LEWIS – Son or family of Lewis.

ROBINSON – Son of Robin, a nickname for Robert.

WALKER – Occupational surname for a person who walks on a damp cloth to thicken it.

YOUNG – Meaning “the younger.” Surname given to a son of a man, when they had the same name.

ALLEN – Little rock.

KING – Ruler of the area.

WRIGHT – Occupational surname meaning a craftsman.

SCOTT – From Scotland.

TORRES – Family who lived near a tower.

NGUYEN – Someone who played a stringed instrument, similar to a lute.

HILL – Family who lived near or on a hill.

FLORES – Son of Floro.

GREEN – Occupational surname for a groundskeeper or family that lived near an open green.

ADAMS – Family of Adam.

NELSON – Son of Neil.

BAKER – Occupational surname for a family of a baker.

HALL – Occupational or place surname for a person who lived or worked in a hall.

RIVERA – From the shore or bank of a river.

CAMPBELL – From the Latin De Bello Campo meaning “from the beautiful field.” Could also be from a Scottish/Gaelic nickname (cam béul) meaning “crooked or sassy mouth.”

MITCHELL – Variation on the name Michael, meaning “Who is like God?”

CARTER – Occupational surname for a cart driver.

ROBERTS – Family of Robert.

GOMEZ – Man

PHILLIPS – Family of Phillip.

EVANS – Family of Evan.

TURNER – Occupational surname for someone who worked with a lathe.

DIAZ – Son of Diego

PARKER – Occupational surname for someone who worked as a park keeper or gamekeeper.

CRUZ – Of the Cross – relating to Jesus Christ

EDWARDS – Family of Edward

COLLINS – Family of Coilean

REYES – Translated to “Kings,” it refers to the phrase “La Virgen de los Reyes,” meaning the Virgin of the Kings.

STEWART – Occupational surname for someone who was a steward.

MORRIS – Dark-skinned, from the Moors.

MORALES – By the mulberry tree

MURPHY – Irish surname meaning “Descendant of Murchadh.”

COOK – Occupational surname for a cook/chef.

ROGERS – Family of Roger

GUTIERREZ – Son of Gutierre.

ORTIZ – Son of Orti

MORGAN – Welsh surname meaning “by the sea.”

COOPER – Occupational surname for a barrel maker.

PETERSON – Son of Peter.

BAILEY – Occupational surname for a bailiff.

REED – Red – a person with a reddish complexion.

KELLY – Irish surname meaning “bright-headed” or red-headed. From Ó Ceallaigh.

HOWARD – Occupational surname for a “ewe herder.”

RAMOS – Family from the wooded area. From the Latin “ramus” meaning “branch.”

KIM – Korean surname meaning “gold.”

COX – Occupational surname, a derivative of “Cook”

WARD – Guardian

RICHARDSON – Son of Richard.

WATSON – Son of Walter. (Watt was a nickname for Walter)

BROOKS – Family who lived by or near a brook (creek).

CHAVEZ – Occupational surname for a key maker.

WOOD – Lives in or near the woods.

JAMES – Family of James (Supplanter).

BENNETT – Family of Benedict (Blessed).

GRAY – From a nickname for someone with grey hair or a house.

MENDOZA – People who live near or are from the village of Mendoza, Spain. Basque term meaning “Cold Mountain.”

RUIZ – Son of Ruy or Roy.

HUGHES – Family of Hugh.

PRICE – Family of Rhys.

ALVAREZ – Family of Alvaro.

CASTILLO – Lives in or near the Castle.

SANDERS – Family of Alexander.

PATEL – Indian/Gujarati surname meaning “Landowner.”

MYERS – Occupational surname for a Mayor.

LONG – Surname from a nickname for someone tall.

ROSS – Scottish surname indicating someone who lived on or near a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water.

FOSTER – Occupational surname, a contraction of “Forester.”

JIMENEZ – Son of Jim/James.

POWELL – Son of Hywell.

Unique Korean Last Names

Beyond the common Korean Surnames, there are many unique and fascinating Korean last names, such as:

JENKINS – Son of John.

PERRY – Son of Harry.

RUSSELL – Little Red one.

SULLIVAN – Irish surname from a descendant of Ó Súileabhán (Little Dark Eyes)

BELL – Occupational surname for a bell-ringer/news announcer. “Hear ye! Hear ye!”

COLEMAN – Son of Colum.

BUTLER – Occupational surname for a butler/wine steward.

HENDERSON – Son of Hendrick/Hendry.

BARNES – Someone who lived or worked in or near a barn.

GONZALES – Son/Family of Gonzalo.

FISHER – Occupational surname for fisherman.

VASQUEZ – Son of Vasco.

SIMMONS – Family of Simon.

ROMERO – From or traveller to Rome.

JORDAN – From the area of the River Jordan.

PATTERSON – Son of Patrick.

ALEXANDER – Defending Men – possibly an occupational surname for a soldier.

HAMILTON – From the crooked hill.

GRAHAM – People who lived in or near a “gravelly homestead” – a contraction of the name Grantham (like Downton Abbey)

REYNOLDS – Family or son of Reginald, or the King (Rey).

GRIFFIN – Mythological creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion.

WALLACE – Welsh or Foreigner.

MORENO – Brown-skinned.

WEST – From the West.

COLE – From the word “coal” indicating a coal miner or possibly someone with darker skin.

HAYES – Lives in or near an enclosure.

BRYANT – Family of Brian.

HERRERA – Occupational surname for an ironworker (Ferrier).

GIBSON – Son of Gilbert (nicknamed Gib).

ELLIS – Son or Family of Elijah/Elias

TRAN – Vietnamese surname meaning old, ancient.

MEDINA – From the city.

AGUILAR – From a place name, meaning “Eagle.”

STEVENS – Son of Steven.

MURRAY – Scottish place name from the area of Moray, meaning “seaboard settlement.”

FORD – Lives by a shallow place in the river.

CASTRO – Portuguese/Spanish surname meaning “Castle.”

MARSHALL – Occupational surname for someone who is a lawman or takes care of horses.

OWENS – Son of Owen.

HARRISON – Son of harry.

FERNANDEZ – Son of Fernando

McDONALD – Son/family of Donald

WOODS – Family who lived in or near the woods.

WASHINGTON – From the area belonging to Wassa’s people. Wassa was a feminine Anglo-Saxon given name.

KENNEDY – Irish surname, from Ó Cinnéidigh, meaning Misshapen or ugly head – might be derived from someone who wore a helmet so much their head was misshapen.

WELLS – From the wellspring or water hole.

VARGAS – From the pasture.

HENRY – Ruler of the Home.

CHEN – Chinese surname meaning “morning.”

FREEMAN – A person who was not owned or ruled by another.

WEBB – Occupational surname from the name Webber, meaning “weaver.”

TUCKER – Occupational surname for someone for a “cloth thickener.”

GUZMAN – Lived in or near the town of Guzmán, Spain.

BURNS – Lives by the stream. From the Old English word, burna.

CRAWFORD – By the river/ford crossing

OLSON – Son of Olaf.

SIMPSON – Son of Simon.

PORTER – Occupational surname for someone who transported items.

HUNTER – Occupational surname for an animal hunter/trapper.

GORDON – Scottish surname meaning “spacious fort or home.”

MENDEZ – Contraction of Menendez, meaning son of Mendo.

SILVA – Portuguese surname meaning by the woods or forest.

SHAW – Family who lived near a dense wooded area.

SNYDER – Occupational surname for a clothing tailor.

MASON – Occupational surname for a bricklayer.

DIXON – Son of Dick/Richard.

MUÑOZ – Son of Muño, a personal name that means “hill.”

HUNT – Hunter.

HICKS – Family of Richard.

HOLMES – Lives near a small island or islet.

PALMER – Pilgrim.

WAGNER – Occupational surname for a wagon maker.

BLACK – A person who is darker in complexion.

ROBERTSON – Son of Robert.

BOYD – Scottish surname, from the Celtic term “boidhe” meaning fair or yellow.

ROSE – Lives near the roses.

STONE – Occupational surname for someone who worked with stone, or a family who lived near a stony area.

SALAZAR – From Salazar, Spain. Salazar translates to “old hall.”

FOX – Cunning like a fox, or a person with red hair.

WARREN – Lives near a warren/animal enclosure.

MILLS – Occupational surname for one who lived near or worked in a mill.

MEYER – Mayor.

RICE – Welsh surname meaning “fiery warrior” based on the name Rhys.

SCHMIDT – Occupational surname, German form of Smith – meaning ironworker or tradesman.

GARZA – The heron bird.

DANIELS – Family of Daniel.

FERGUSON – Son of Fergus.

NICHOLS – Family of Nicholas.

STEPHENS – Family of Stephen.

SOTO – Lives in or near the small forest.

WEAVER – Occupational surname for a weaver of cloth.

RYAN – Irish surname and given name meaning “descendant of a follower of Rían”

GARDNER – Occupational surname for a gardener/groundskeeper.

PAYNE – Originally meaning pagan.

GRANT – Large, great.

DUNN – Dark or brown in complexion.

KELLEY – Irish surname meaning “bright-headed” or red-headed. From Ó Ceallaigh.

SPENCER – Occupational surname for a butler or steward of a manor.

HAWKINS – From the hawk’s place.

Korean Last Names and Their Meanings

Our comprehensive list of 200+ Korean last names includes:

- 50 most common Korean last names

- 100 unique and uncommon Korean last names

- 50 Korean last names with their meanings and origins

Conclusion: Korean last names are a reflection of the country's rich cultural heritage and history. By exploring the meanings and origins of these surnames, we can gain a deeper understanding of Korean culture and its people. Whether you're interested in learning more about your Korean roots or simply fascinated by the diversity of Korean names, our list of 200+ Korean last names is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Korean culture.