Editing Korean name (section)

==History==
The use of names has evolved over time. The first recording of Korean names appeared as early as in the early [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms period]]. The adoption of Chinese characters contributed to Korean names. A complex system, including [[courtesy name]]s, [[art name]]s, [[posthumous name]]s, and childhood names, arose out of [[Confucianism|Confucian]] tradition. The courtesy name system in particular arose from the ''[[Classic of Rites]]'', a core text of the Confucian canon.{{sfnp|Lee|1983|p=1134}} Names have also been influenced by [[naming taboo]]s, a practice that originated in China.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koon |first=Wee Kek |date=2023-02-14 |title=Chinese culture, like North Korea, has taboo words; they just aren't illegal |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3210116/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-has-enforced-name-taboo-chinese-emperors-once-did-chinese-culture-has-other |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=[[South China Morning Post]] |archive-date=2023-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722004013/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3210116/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-has-enforced-name-taboo-chinese-emperors-once-did-chinese-culture-has-other |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the Three Kingdoms period, native given names were sometimes composed of three syllables like Misaheun ({{lang|ko|미사흔}}) and Sadaham ({{lang|ko|사다함}}), which were later transcribed into [[Hanja]] (未斯欣 and 斯多含). The use of surnames was limited to kings in the beginning, but gradually spread to aristocrats and eventually to most of the population.{{sfnp|Toh|1999|loc=sec. 2}}

Some recorded surnames are apparently native Korean words, such as [[toponym]]s. At that time, some characters of Korean names might have been read not by their Sino-Korean pronunciation, but by their native reading. For example, the native Korean name of [[Yeon Gaesomun]] ({{Korean|hangul=연개소문|hanja=淵蓋蘇文|labels=no}}), the first Grand Prime Minister of [[Goguryeo]], can linguistically be reconstructed as {{IPA|[*älkɑsum]}}.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chang |first=Sekyung (장세경) |script-title=ko:고대 복수인명 표기의 음성·음운론적 고찰 |trans-title=Phonetic and phonological study on the different transcriptions of the same personal names |url=http://www.riss.kr/link?id=T2179775 |year=1990 |location=Seoul |publisher=[[Dongguk University]] |language=ko}}</ref> Early [[Silla]] names are also believed to represent [[Old Korean]] vocabulary; for example, [[Bak Hyeokgeose]], the name of the founder of Silla, was pronounced something like {{Transliteration|ko|rr|Bulgeonuri}} (弗矩內), which can be translated as "bright world".{{sfnp|Toh|1999|loc=sec. 3}}

In older traditions, if the name of a baby is not chosen by the third trimester, the responsibility of choosing the name fell to the oldest son of the family. Often, this was the preferred method as the name chosen was seen as good luck.

According to the chronicle ''[[Samguk sagi]]'', surnames were bestowed by kings upon their supporters. For example, in 33 CE, King [[Yuri of Silla|Yuri]] gave the six headmen of Saro (later [[Silla]]) the names Lee ({{lang|ko|이}}), Bae ({{lang|ko|배}}), Choi ({{lang|ko|최}}), Jeong ({{lang|ko|정}}), Son ({{lang|ko|손}}) and Seol ({{lang|ko|설}}). However, this account is not generally credited by modern historians, who hold that Confucian-style surnames as above were more likely to have come into general use in the fifth and subsequent centuries, as the Three Kingdoms increasingly adopted the Chinese model.{{sfnp|Toh|1999}}

Only a handful of figures from the Three Kingdoms period are recorded as having borne a [[courtesy name]], such as [[Seol Chong]]. The custom only became widespread in the [[Goryeo]] period, as Confucianism took hold among the literati.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Naver Encyclopedia |title=Courtesy name (자, 字) |publisher=[[Naver]] |url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=131083 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129173426/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=131083 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |access-date=2006-08-22 |language=ko }}</ref>{{efn|Seol Chong's courtesy name, Chongji ({{lang|ko|총지}}) is reported in the ''Samguk sagi'', Yeoljeon 6, "Seol Chong".}} In 1055, Goryeo established a new law limiting access to the civil service examination to those without surnames.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

For men of the aristocratic ''[[yangban]]'' class, a complex system of alternate names emerged by the [[Joseon]] period. On the other hand, commoners typically only had given names.<ref name="EncyKorea" /> Surnames were originally a privilege reserved for the ''yangban'' class, but members of the [[jungin|middle]] and [[sangmin|common]] classes of Joseon society frequently paid to acquire a surname from a ''yangban'' and be included into a [[Korean clans|clan]]; this practice became rampant by the 18th century,<ref>{{cite news|title=Why so many Koreans are called Kim|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/09/economist-explains-5|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=2014-09-08|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2017-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116223703/https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/09/economist-explains-5|url-status=live}}</ref> leading to a significant growth in the ''yangban'' class but conversely diluting and weakening its social dominance.<ref>{{cite web|title=(3) 사회 구조의 변동|url=http://contents.history.go.kr/front/ta/view.do?levelId=ta_h62_0020_0030_0030|website=우리역사넷|publisher=[[National Institute of Korean History]]|access-date=2017-10-23|language=ko|archive-date=2017-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023120314/http://contents.history.go.kr/front/ta/view.do?levelId=ta_h62_0020_0030_0030|url-status=live}}</ref> For instance, in the region of [[Daegu]], the ''yangban'' who had comprised 9.2% of Daegu's demographics in 1690 rose to 18.7% in 1729, 37.5% in 1783, and 70.3% in 1858.<ref>{{cite web|title=3) 양반 신분의 동향|url=http://contents.history.go.kr/front/nh/view.do?levelId=nh_039_0040_0040_0030_0010|website=우리역사넷|publisher=[[National Institute of Korean History]]|access-date=2017-10-23|language=ko|archive-date=2017-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023120212/http://contents.history.go.kr/front/nh/view.do?levelId=nh_039_0040_0040_0030_0010|url-status=live}}</ref> It was not until the [[Gabo Reform]] of 1894 that members of the [[cheonmin|outcast]] class were allowed to adopt a surname.<ref>{{cite web|author1=이권형|author2=김수한|title=한국족보박물관 개관…'족보 문화'의 메카 대전을 가다|url=http://biz.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20100526000135|website=헤럴드경제|publisher=[[Herald Corporation]]|date=2010-05-26|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023120324/http://biz.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20100526000135|archive-date=2017-10-23|language=ko}}</ref> According to a census called the {{Transliteration|ko|rr|minjeokbu}} ({{Korean|hangul=민적부|hanja=民籍簿|labels=no}}) completed in 1910, more than half of the Korean population did not have a surname at the time.<ref name="EncyKorea" />

For a brief period after the [[Mongol invasion of Korea]] during the [[Goryeo]] period, Korean kings and aristocrats had both [[Mongolian names|Mongolian]] and [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]] names. The scions of the ruling class were sent to the [[Yuan Dynasty|Yuan]] court for schooling.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lee |first=Ki-baik |author-link=Ki-baik Lee |translator-last1=Wagner |translator-first1=Edward W. |translator-last2=Shultz |translator-first2=Edward J. |title=A New History of Korea |publisher=Ilchokak |year=1984 |page=156 |location=Seoul |isbn=978-89-337-0204-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofkore0000leek}}</ref> For example, King [[Gongmin of Goryeo|Gongmin]] had both the Mongolian name Bayan Temür ({{Lang-zh|c=伯顏帖木兒|labels=no}}) and the Sino-Korean name Wang Gi (王祺) (later renamed Wang Jeon (王顓)).{{sfnp|Lee|1983|p=117}}

===Japanese colonial period===
{{See also|Sōshi-kaimei|Korea under Japanese rule}}
During the period of Japanese colonial rule of Korea (1910–1945), Koreans were forced to adopt [[Japanese language|Japanese]]-language names.<ref>U.S. [[Library of Congress]], [http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/7.htm Korea Under Japanese Rule.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103013022/http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/7.htm |date=2016-11-03}}</ref> Even today, it is common for Korean nationals living in Japan to use Japanese surnames as well. Also known as {{nihongo||通称名|tsūshōmei}} or {{nihongo||通名|tsūmei}}, such an alternative name can be registered as a [[Alien registration in Japan#Legal alias|legal alias]] and used in many official contexts including bank accounts and health insurance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-01-22 |title=Zainichi (Koreans in Japan): Diasporic Nationalism and Postcolonial Identity |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122102347/http://repositories.cdlib.org/gaia/gaia_books/10/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref>

In 1939, as part of [[Governor-General of Korea|Governor-General]] [[Jirō Minami]]'s policy of {{nihongo|cultural assimilation|同化政策|dōka seisaku}}, Ordinance No. 20 (commonly called the "Name Order", or {{nihongo||創氏改名|sōshi-kaimei}} in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]) was issued, and became law in April 1940. Although the Japanese Governor-General officially prohibited compulsion, low-level officials effectively forced Koreans to adopt Japanese-style surnames and given names. By 1944, about 84% of the population had registered Japanese surnames.{{sfnp|Nahm|1988|p=233}}

{{Transliteration|ja|Sōshi}} (Japanese) means the creation of a Japanese surname ({{Transliteration|ja|shi}}, Korean {{Transliteration|ko|rr|ssi}}), distinct from a Korean surname or {{Transliteration|ko|rr|seong}} (Japanese {{Transliteration|ja|sei}}). Japanese surnames represent the families they belong to and can be changed by marriage and other procedures, while Korean surnames represent paternal linkages and are unchangeable. Japanese policy dictated that Koreans either could register a completely new Japanese surname unrelated to their Korean surname, or have their Korean surname, in Japanese form, automatically become their Japanese name if no surname was submitted before the deadline.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Empas Encyclopedia |title=Changssi Gaemyeong (창씨개명, 創氏改名) |publisher=empas.com |url=http://100.empas.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?i=187854&v=43 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325194830/http://100.empas.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?i=187854&v=43 |language=ko |access-date=2006-08-23 |archive-date=2007-03-25}}</ref>

After the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule, the Name Restoration Order ({{Korean|hangul=조선 성명 복구령|hanja=朝鮮姓名復舊令|labels=no}}) was issued on October 23, 1946, by the [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|United States military administration]] south of the [[38th parallel north]], enabling Koreans to restore their original Korean names if they wished.

Japanese conventions of creating given names, such as using "{{lang|ja|子}}" (Japanese {{Transliteration|ja|ko}} and Korean {{Transliteration|ko|rr|ja}}) in feminine names, are seldom seen in present-day Korea, both North and South. In the North, a campaign to eradicate such Japanese-based names was launched in the 1970s.<ref name="northnames" /> In the South, and presumably in the North as well, these names are regarded as old and unsophisticated.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Song-i |date=2021-11-08 |title=How Korean Names Work {{!}} Order Of First Names, Kim Surname, And More |url=https://koreatruly.com/korean-names/ |access-date=2021-12-21 |website=Korea Truly |archive-date=2021-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223062015/https://koreatruly.com/korean-names/ |url-status=live }}</ref>