# Western Given Names



## Skylynx

Hey all,

    I am writing a story in Korean, and I was wondering if anyone knew: are there any Korean versions of Western names? For example, are there Korean versions to the names "David" or "Steven"?

    In some languages, it is more appropriate to use that language's version of the name, even when the person is American. Does this hold true for Korean as well? Any help on this subject would be much appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Skylynx


----------



## seouldavid

As I know, there are no such names in Korean even though some people use English nickname mainly for their business.


----------



## Gijoe

I guess, not at all.

I know one famous musician whose name is you-jin and according to him, his name is for both western and eastern culture because he was born abroad, but their parents weren't willing to use western names.

so, the name was made from the same sound of both culture and with the meanings from his home land culture.


----------



## seouldavid

유진 (you-jin), 김유진 (kim-you-jin), 이유진 (lee-you-jin), 서유진 (seo-you-jin), etc. Yes, as you pointed out, the name "you-jin" is very popular as a name for girls and boys nowadays in Korea. Many characters' names in plays and TV dramas are "you-jin".


----------



## Skylynx

Er... You guys have sort of answered my question...

What I mean is: Do Koreans use names derived from English or other Western languages?

For example, in German, the name "John" might be changed to "Johannes". In Spanish, it might be changed to "Juan". Is this custom copied in Korean culture?


----------



## seouldavid

If so, there is no Korean name derived for English or other Western languages. Nowadays people compose their children's name in pure Korean but not derived from Western languages. And in the past and now most Korean names are composed with Chinese characters to give special meaning to their name.


----------



## Skylynx

Ah... I see. Thanks for the help!


----------



## irairae

Korean versions of Western(Bible) names are exist.
Among the Christian people in Korea, there are such names derived from Bible characters.

For example, 
요한(Yohan) = John, 
요셉(Yosep) = Joseph 
다윗(Dawit) = David
노아(Noa) = Noah
이삭(Isak) = Issac
한나(Hanna) = Anne or Anna,Hanna
모세(Mose) = Moses

Some words (in here 이삭 and 한나) are homophone with native Korean words, (이삭 means a ear of grain, 한나 means the one, and quite common girl's name) so it could be name derived from Bible or not. 
These names also consisted in two syllables(In Korean language), very common in Korean names.


----------



## Skylynx

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for.


----------



## nn.om

irairae said:


> Korean versions of Western(Bible) names are exist.
> Among the Christian people in Korea, there are such names derived from Bible characters.
> 
> For example,
> 요한(Yohan) = John,
> 요셉(Yosep) = Joseph
> 다윗(Dawit) = David
> 노아(Noa) = Noah
> 이삭(Isak) = Issac
> 한나(Hanna) = Anne or Anna,Hanna
> 모세(Mose) = Moses
> 
> Some words (in here 이삭 and 한나) are homophone with native Korean words, (이삭 means a ear of grain, 한나 means the one, and quite common girl's name) so it could be name derived from Bible or not.
> These names also consisted in two syllables(In Korean language), very common in Korean names.


 
Thank you for this post. I'll take "Yohan" for one of my Koreans characters^^


----------

