Do Koreans have middle names?

No — Koreans do not have middle names. A Korean name has exactly two parts, a family name and a given name, and the given name is one unit even though it usually has two syllables. The confusion comes from Western forms and from the hyphen, and this page clears it up.

The short answer

Take Kim Yu-na (김연아). Kim is the surname. Yu-na is the given name — one name, two syllables. “Na” is not a middle name any more than the “ah” in “Sarah” is one. When a Korean’s name is written without the hyphen, “Kim Yu Na”, Western systems read it as first name Yu, middle name Na, and that is where the idea of a Korean middle name comes from. It is a filing error, not a naming custom.

Why given names have two syllables

Korean given names are traditionally built from two Hanja characters, each chosen for its meaning and sound — Yu-na might be 妍兒, “beautiful child”. Two syllables is the norm because one syllable feels abrupt and three is unwieldy after a one-syllable surname; the whole name lands neatly on three beats. The two characters are not independent names, and Koreans never address someone by one syllable of a given name. Calling Yu-na “Yu” would sound like calling Michael “Mi”.

The generation name — the closest thing to a middle name

In traditional families one of the two given-name syllables is a generation name (돌림자, dollimja), shared by every sibling and cousin of the same generation in the clan. If the generation syllable is “Jae”, the brothers might be Jae-ho, Jae-min and Jae-won. The clan’s genealogy book fixes the sequence of generation characters for dozens of generations ahead, following the five-element cycle, so the syllable tells other clan members exactly where you sit in the family tree.

The generation name is sometimes described to Westerners as a “middle name”, and it does play one of the roles a middle name plays in some cultures — marking family membership. But it is not separate from the given name, it can be the first or second syllable, it is never dropped or abbreviated, and a growing number of families no longer use one.

What to put in the “middle name” box

If you are Korean and a form insists on a middle name, the correct answer is to leave it blank and put your whole given name in the first-name field: first name Yu-na (or Yuna), last name Kim. Splitting it into “Yu” and “Na” creates a record that does not match your passport, where the given name appears as one word (YUNA) or hyphenated. Airlines, universities and banks in English-speaking countries see this problem constantly, and most now accept a blank middle-name field for Korean applicants.

If you are filling in a form about a Korean person, the same applies: treat the two syllables as one first name.

Hyphen, space or one word?

All three appear, and they mean the same thing. South Korea’s Revised Romanization recommends one word (Yuna) with a hyphen permitted (Yu-na); older McCune–Reischauer and most news agencies hyphenate; North Korea uses a space and capitalises both syllables (Kim Jong Un). The space is what creates middle-name confusion, which is one reason the South moved away from it.

Genuine exceptions

A few Koreans do carry something like a second name. Korean Christians sometimes have a baptismal name used in church (Francis Kim Dae-jung), Buddhist monks receive a dharma name, and Korean-Americans may have an English first name plus a Korean name on official documents — but these are separate names for separate contexts, not a middle name in the Western sense. Koreans who naturalise in Western countries occasionally register their Korean given name as a middle name (Michael Ji-sung Park) to keep it on record.

Frequently asked questions