How Korean Names Are Made: Hanja, Five Elements and Saju
A Korean name is usually three syllables: a one-syllable family name and a two-syllable given name. Behind those three syllables there is often a lot of thought — meanings written in hanja (Chinese characters), family traditions, and sometimes your saju chart.
Family Name First
Korean names put the family name first: in Kim Minji, Kim is the family name. A handful of family names are extremely common — roughly one in five Koreans is a Kim, and Lee and Park follow — so the given name does most of the work of making a name personal.
Each family name also belongs to a clan tied to an ancestral home town (bon-gwan, 본관), which is why two Kims are not necessarily related.
Given Names and Their Hanja
Most given names have two syllables, and traditionally each syllable is chosen as a hanja character with a meaning — for example a syllable like "seo" can be written with characters meaning "auspicious", "west" or "writing". The same sound can carry very different wishes.
Korea keeps an official list of hanja that may be used in names. Many families also share a generation syllable (dollimja, 돌림자): siblings and cousins of the same generation carry the same syllable in their names.
What is your Korean name?
Your saju chart picks hanja that carry the two elements you need most, plus a pure-Korean name for your Day Master — with a seal card to keep.
Naming With Saju and the Five Elements
Many Korean parents still ask a naming expert (jakmyeongso, 작명소) to choose a name. The expert reads the baby's saju chart, notes which of the five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water — the chart lacks, and picks hanja whose element helps balance it.
A character's element can come from its meaning or its parts: a character containing the tree radical (木) leans Wood, one containing water (氵) leans Water. The goal is a name that quietly brings in what the chart is missing.
Pure-Korean Names
Some names have no hanja at all and use native Korean words instead — names like Haneul (sky), Bom (spring), Nari (lily) or Bit-na (shining). They became popular in recent decades and sound soft and modern.
Pure-Korean names are a lovely choice for a Korean nickname, because the meaning is clear to anyone who speaks Korean.
Find Your Korean Name From Your Birthday (Free)
Our Korean name tool follows the same idea as a naming expert: it reads your saju chart, finds the two elements you need most, and chooses hanja that carry them — plus a pure-Korean name that matches your Day Master. You get your name in Hangul, its hanja and meaning, and a seal card to keep.
What is your Korean name?
Your saju chart picks hanja that carry the two elements you need most, plus a pure-Korean name for your Day Master — with a seal card to keep.
Questions people ask
Can a foreigner have a Korean name?
Of course. Many people learning Korean or living in Korea choose a Korean name. It is a fun way to connect with the language, and many Koreans enjoy hearing the meaning behind it.
What is the most common Korean family name?
Kim. Roughly one in five Koreans has the family name Kim, followed by Lee and Park.
Do Korean names have meanings?
Usually yes. Each syllable of a given name is often written with a hanja character chosen for its meaning, and pure-Korean names use native words like sky or spring.
How do naming experts use saju?
They look at which of the five elements the baby's chart lacks and choose hanja whose element supports it, so the name helps balance the chart.
More guides
Read your whole chart
Your day pillar is one of eight characters. See all four pillars, your five elements and your 2027 — the first chapters are free.