Soo (Korean name)

Not to be confused with So (Korean name) or Seo (surname).
Su
Pronunciation/su/
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameKorean
Meaning秀(su) meaning "excellent, beautiful, flower, flowering, elegant, talent", 修(su) meaning "study, learn, mend, repair, beautiful, excellent", or other Hanja's meaning.
Other names
Alternative spellingSoo
Soo
Hangul
수
Hanja
秀, 修 and others
Revised RomanizationSu
McCune–ReischauerSu
IPA[su]

Su, also spelled Soo, is a rare Korean surname, a single-syllable Korean given name, and an element in many two-syllable Korean given names.[1] As given name meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. There are 91 hanja with the reading "su"[2] on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.

Family name

As a family name, Su(Soo) may be written with two different hanja, each indicating different lineages. The 2000 South Korean Census found a total of 199 people and 54 households with these family names.[3]

The more common name means 'water' (水; 물 수). The surviving bon-gwan (origin of a clan lineage, not necessarily the actual residence of the clan members) as of 2000 included Gangneung, Gangwon Province (46 people and 12 households); Gangnam, Seoul (41 people and 9 households); Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province (17 people and four households); Gosan (today Wanju County), North Jeolla Province (11 people and three households); and nine people with other or unknown bon-gwan.[3][4] According to the Joseon Ssijok Tongbo (조선씨족통보; 朝鮮氏族統譜), the name originated in Wuxing (today Wuxing District, Huzhou), Zhejiang, China.[4][5]

The less common name means 'shore' or 'bank' (洙; 물가 수). For the 75 people with this family name, the surviving bon-gwan as of 2000 included Dalseong County, Daegu (46 people and 15 households); Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province (24 people and eight households); and five people with other or unknown bon-gwan.[3][6]

Given name

As given name meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. There are 91 hanja with the reading "su"[7] on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.


People with the given name Soo include:

  • Go Soo (born 1978), South Korean actor

Korean names which begin with this element include:

Korean names which end with this element include:

See also

References

  1. ^ List of Korean given names
  2. ^ 대법원 인명용 : 네이버 한자사전 "수"
  3. ^ a b c "행정구역(구시군)/성씨·본관별 가구 및 인구" [Family names by administrative region (district, city, county): separated by bon-gwan, households and individuals]. Korean Statistical Information Service. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b "水氏(江南 · 江陵 · 高山 · 金海)" [Su clans (Gangnam, Gangneung, Gosan, Gimhae)]. Bucheon: Jokbo Library. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  5. ^ "수씨(水氏)" [Su clan]. Bucheon: Jokbo Library. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  6. ^ "달성 · 밀양수씨(達城 · 密陽洙氏)" [Dalseong, Miryang Su clans]. Bucheon: Jokbo Library. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  7. ^ 대법원 인명용 : 네이버 한자사전 "수"