Editing Korean name (section)

==Given names==
{{See also|List of Korean given names}}
Traditionally, given names are partly determined by [[generation name]]s, a custom originating in China. One of the two characters in a given name is unique to the individual, while the other is shared by all people in a family generation. In both North and South Koreas, generational names are usually no longer shared by cousins, but are still commonly shared by siblings.<ref name="northnames">{{Cite web |author=김미영 |script-title=ko:이름짓기/ 여성 이름 '자'字 사라져 |trans-title=Creating a name / ''ja'' disappearing from female names |publisher=NKchosun |date=2000-11-19 |url=http://nk.chosun.com/news/news.html?ACT=detail&res_id=3758 |language=ko |access-date=2006-08-13 |archive-date=2023-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816103228/http://nk.chosun.com/news/news.html?ACT=detail&res_id=3758 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Harkrader|first=Lisa|title=South Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1VeruSAyawC|year=2004|publisher=Enslow Pub. Inc.|isbn=978-0-7660-5181-2|page=24|quote=Many South Korean families today are relatively small, and may not include sons, so South Korean parents have begun to choose names for their sons that do not follow the traditional requirements of generation names.}}</ref>

Given names are typically composed of Hanja, or Chinese characters. In North Korea, the Hanja are no longer used to write the names, but the meanings are still understood; for example, the syllable {{Transliteration|ko|rr|cheol}} ({{lang|ko|철}}) in boys' names is usually perceived as {{linktext|鐵}}, which means "iron".<ref name="northnames" />

In South Korea, Article 37 of the ''Regulations on Registration of Family Relations'' ({{Korean|hangul=가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 규칙|labels=no}}) requires that the Hanja in personal names be taken from a restricted list. Unapproved Hanja must be represented by Hangul in the family relations register ({{Korean|hangul=가족관계등록부|labels=no}}). In March 1991, the [[Supreme Court of Korea]] published the ''List of Hanja for Use in Personal Names'' ({{Korean|hangul=인명용 한자표|hanja=人名用漢字表|labels=no}}){{efn|Also called the ''List of Additional Hanja for Use in Personal Names'' ({{Korean|hangul=인명용 추가 한자표|hanja=人名用追加漢字表|labels=no}}).}} which allowed a total of 2,854 Hanja in new South Korean given names (as well as 61 variant forms), and put it into effect starting April 1 of the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |author=[[National Institute of Korean Language|National Academy of the Korean Language]] |script-title=ko:국립 국어 연구원 소식 |trans-title=News from the National Academy of the Korean Language |publisher=New Korean Life (새국어생활) |date=June 1991 |url=http://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1991_2/2_25.html |language=ko |access-date=2006-08-11 |archive-date=2016-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319163239/http://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1991_2/2_25.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The list was expanded several times; the latest update was in 2022. Currently, more than 8,000 Hanja are permitted in South Korean names (including the [[Basic Hanja for educational use|set of basic Hanja]]), in addition to a small number of variant forms.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/10/20/2014102001300.html|script-title=ko:'인명용(人名用)' 한자 5761→8142자로 대폭 확대|newspaper=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|date=2014-10-20|access-date=2017-08-23|language=ko|archive-date=2017-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823161914/http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/10/20/2014102001300.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The use of an official list is similar to Japan's use of the ''[[jinmeiyō kanji]]'' (although the characters do not entirely coincide).

The ''List of Hanja for Use in Personal Names'' merely shows what characters are currently allowed to be registered. It cannot always be used to determine someone's existing Hanja name because of the following reasons:
* People who were named before April 1, 1991, did not have any restrictions on Hanja names. Their names can contain Hanja that are not even in the list.
* The list is sometimes updated to include more Hanja. A character currently in the list may not be in older versions of the list.

While the traditional practice is still largely followed, since the late 1970s, some parents have given their children names that are native Korean words, usually of two syllables. Given names of this sort include [[Ha-neul]] ({{Korean|hangul=하늘|labels=no|lit=heaven/sky}}), [[Da-som]] ({{Korean|hangul=다솜|labels=no|lit=love}}) and [[Bit-na]] ({{Korean|hangul=빛나|labels=no|lit=to shine}}). Between 2008 and 2015, the proportion of such names among South Korean newborns rose from 3.5% to 7.7%.<ref>{{cite news|author=민경호|url=http://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1003564588|script-title=ko:신생아 인기 이름 '민준·서연'…드라마 영향?|trans-title=Popular names for newborns: Min-jun and Seo-yeon ... the effect of TV dramas?|publisher=[[Seoul Broadcasting System]]|date=2016-05-09|access-date=2017-12-06|quote=신생아에게 한글 이름을 지어주는 경우는 2008년 전체의 3.5%에서 지난해에는 두 배가 넘는 7.7%에 달했습니다.|language=ko|archive-date=2017-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213092326/http://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1003564588|url-status=live}}</ref> Another source, citing the [[Supreme Court of Korea|Supreme Court]] Public Relations Office, found the amount in newborns increased from 7.46% in 2013 to a new high of 14.83% in 2022; however, this data also indicated that the increase was mainly due to modern decline in birth rates hitting Chinese character names disproportionally hard, as they fell from 410,000 down to 210,000, whereas pure Korean names only rose moderately, from 33,000 to 37,000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Boyŏng |date=2023 |title=Our children's 'Korean names'... What is the reason for the doubling in 10 years? |url=https://news.lghellovision.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=440127 |url-status=live |website=[[LG]] HelloVision |language=ko}}</ref> Despite this trend away from traditional practice, people's names are still recorded in both Hangul and Hanja (if available) on official documents, in family genealogies, and so on.

Unless a given name contains a syllable that does not have any corresponding Hanja at all (e.g. {{lang|ko|빛}} ({{Transliteration|ko|rr|bit}})), there is no guarantee that a name which may ''look'' like a native Korean name never has Hanja. A certain name written in Hangul can be a native Korean name, or a Sino-Korean name, or even both. For example, [[Bo-ram (name)|Bo-ram]] ({{lang|ko|보람}}) can not only be a native Korean name,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lawpeople.lawtimes.co.kr/lawman/10502/preview|script-title=ko:김보람(金보람)|work=한국법조인대관|trans-work=List of Legal Professionals in Korea|publisher=법률신문 (The Law Times)|access-date=2023-08-15|language=ko|archive-date=2023-08-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815130650/https://lawpeople.lawtimes.co.kr/lawman/10502/preview|url-status=live}}</ref> but can also be a Sino-Korean name (e.g. 寶濫).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lawpeople.lawtimes.co.kr/lawman/21732/preview|script-title=ko:강보람(姜寶濫)|work=한국법조인대관|trans-work=List of Legal Professionals in Korea|publisher=법률신문 (The Law Times)|access-date=2023-08-15|language=ko|archive-date=2023-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813162914/https://lawpeople.lawtimes.co.kr/lawman/21732/preview|url-status=live}}</ref> In some cases, parents intend a dual meaning: both the meaning from a native Korean word and the meaning from Hanja.

Originally, there was no legal limitation on the length of names in South Korea. As a result, some people registered extremely long given names, such as the 16-syllable {{Transliteration|ko|rr|{{shy|Haneul|byeolnim|gureum|haetnim|boda|sarang|seureouri}}}} ({{lang|ko|하늘별님구름햇님보다사랑스러우리}}; roughly, "more beloved than the sky, stars, clouds, and the sun"). However, beginning in 1993, new regulations required that the given name be five syllables or shorter.<ref>{{cite news|author=김남일|url=http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/399615.html|script-title=ko:한국에서 가장 긴 이름은?|trans-title=What's the longest name in Korea?|publisher=[[The Hankyoreh]]|date=2008-01-18|access-date=2015-08-06|language=ko|archive-date=2015-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016215942/http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/399615.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A family relations certificate ({{Korean|hangul=가족관계증명서|labels=no}}) of an individual lists the person concerned, the person's parents, spouse, and children. If there is more than one person with the same name in a family relations certificate, it is difficult to identify the person. Therefore, an individual is not allowed to have the same name as someone appearing in one's parent's family relations certificate – in other words, a child cannot have the same name as one's parents and grandparents.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ministry of Government Legislation of South Korea |author-link=Ministry of Government Legislation |url=https://easylaw.go.kr/CSP/CnpClsMain.laf?csmSeq=277&ccfNo=4&cciNo=2&cnpClsNo=1 |script-title=ko:태아 및 신생아 > 자녀의 성명 > 이름 > 이름 관련 준수사항 (본문) |website=찾기쉬운 생활법령정보 (Easy to Find, Practical Law) |quote=가족관계증명서에 동일한 이름을 가진 사람이 둘 이상 있으면 이름을 특정하기 곤란한 문제가 발생합니다. 따라서 자녀의 이름은 출생자에 대한 부와 모의 가족관계증명서에 드러나는 사람(예를 들어, 출생자의 조부·조모·부·모 등)과 같은 이름을 사용한 경우에는 출생신고가 수리되지 않습니다 |language=ko |access-date=2023-08-16 |archive-date=2023-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816103229/https://easylaw.go.kr/CSP/CnpClsMain.laf?csmSeq=277&ccfNo=4&cciNo=2&cnpClsNo=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Gender===
Korean given names' correlation to gender is complex and, by comparison to European languages, less consistent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Jong-mi |last2=Go |first2=U-ri |date=December 2024 |title=Sounds of gender: Masculine consonants and feminine vowels in names across languages |url=https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003150863 |journal=Studies in Phonetics, Phonology and Morphology |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=401–426 |issn=1226-8690}}</ref>

Certain Sino-Korean syllables carry masculine connotations, others feminine, and others unisex. These connotations may vary depending on whether the character is used as the first or second character in the given name. A ''[[Generation name|dollimja]]'' generational marker, once confined to male descendants but now sometimes used for women as well, may further complicate gender identification. Native Korean given names show similar variation.

A further complication in Korean text is that the singular pronoun used to identify individuals has no gender. This means that automated translation often misidentifies or fails to identify an individual's gender in Korean text and thus presents stilted or incorrect English output. (Conversely, English source text is similarly missing information about social status and age critical to smooth Korean-language rendering.)<ref>{{cite conference |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4584353 |title=Determining Gender of Korean Names with Context |last1=Yoon |first1=Hee-geun |last2=Park |first2=Seong-bae |last3=Han |first3=Yong-jin |last4=Lee |first4=Sang-jo |year=2008 |publisher=[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] |pages=121–126 |location=[[Dalian]], China |conference=2008 International Conference on Advanced Language Processing and Web Information Technology |doi=10.1109/ALPIT.2008.86 |access-date=2023-08-23 |archive-date=2018-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617155541/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4584353/ |url-status=live }}</ref>