Myung, also spelled Myeong, Myong, or Myoung, is a

Korean family name This is a list of Korean surnames, in Hangul alphabetical order. The most common Korean surname (particularly in South Korea) is Kim (Korean name), Kim (), followed by Lee (Korean name), Lee () and Park (Korean surname), Park (). These three sur ...

, a single-syllable

Korean given name Korean names are names that place their origin in, or are used in, Korea. A Korean name in the modern era typically consists of a surname followed by a given name, with no middle names. A number of Korean terms for names exist. For full names, ...

, and an element in some two-syllable Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.

Family name

The surname Myeong is derived from the Chinese surname

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

, written with the

hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

, meaning "bright" or "brilliance". The 2000 South Korean census estimated that 26,746 people had this family name. In a study by the

National Institute of the Korean Language The National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL; ) is a language regulator of the Korean language based in Seoul, South Korea. It was created on January 23, 1991, by Presidential Decree No. 13163 (November 14, 1990). It has previously gone by a ...

based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 62.1% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Myung in their passports. The Revised Romanisation spelling Myeong was in second place at 18.9%, while another 16.2% used the spelling Myoung. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 2.8%) included Myeoung. People with this family name include: *

Ming Yuzhen Ming Yuzhen (; 2 October 1328 – 17 March 1366) was a peasant rebel leader who established the dynasty of Ming Xia during the late Yuan dynasty in China. Ming was born in Suizhou (today Sui County, Hubei) in a farmer family. He changed the ...

(1328–1366), Ming Xia Dynasty emperor, founder of several Myung clans * Myoung Bok-hee (born 1979), South Korean handball player, Olympic silver medalist * Myong Cha-hyon (born 1990), North Korean football player * Myong Dong-chan (1948–1999), North Korean football player * Myung Hyung-seo (born 2001), South Korean singer, member of CLASS:y * Myung Jaehyun (born 2003), South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, member of

BoyNextDoor BoyNextDoor (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by KOZ Entertainment in 2023. The group consists of six members: Sungho, Riwoo, Jaehyun, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak. Characterized by its eponymous 'wikt:boy next door, boy ...

* Myung Jae-nam (1939–1999), South Korean hapkido practitioner * Myung Ji-yun (born 1975), South Korean actress *

John Myung John Ro Myung ( ; born January 24, 1967) is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Background and personal life Born in Chicago to South Korean parents, Myung grew up with John Petrucci on Lon ...

(born 1967), American bassist, founder of

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

, American accountant and poker player * Myung Jun-jae (born 1994), South Korean football player *

Myung Kwang-sik Myung Kwang-sik (; 2 April 1940 – 19 July 2009) was an early Korean hapkido practitioner and a pioneer of the art, first in Korea and then in the United States. He was the second student of Ji Han Jae's school in Ma Jang Dong, Seoul. He formed ...

(1940–2009), South Korean hapkido practitioner * Myung Kyungjae (born 1968), South Korean biologist * Myung Rye-hyun (born 1929), North Korean football manager * Myung Se-bin (born 1975), South Korean actress * Myung Tae-kyun (born 1970), South Korean businessman and journalist

Given name

Hanja

There are 19 hanja with the reading "myeong" on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names. # (이름 명 ''ireum myeong''): "name" # (목숨 명 ''moksum myeong''): "life" # (밝을 명 ''balgeul myeong''): "bright" # (울 명 ''ul myeong''): "cry", "chirp" # (새길 명 ''saegil myeong''): "inscription" # (바다 명 ''bada myeong''): "sea" # (저물 명 ''jeomul myeong''): "to darken" # (홈통 명 ''homtong myeong''): "drainpipe" # (그릇 명 ''geureut myeong''): "dish" # (눈 감을 명 ''nun gameul myeong''): "to close one's eyes" # (차 싹 명 ''cha ssak myeong''): "tea plant" # (명협 명 ''myeonghyeop myeong''): # (멸구 명 ''myeolgu myeong''): "

leafhopper Leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family (biology), family Cicadellidae: based on the type genus ''Cicadella''. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or ...

" # (술 취할 명 ''sul chwihal myeong''): "drunk" # (너그러울 명 ''neogeureoul myeong''): "generous" # (강 이름 명 ''gang ireum myeong''): name of a river # (밝을 명 ''balgeul myeong''): "bright" # (초명새 명 ''chomyeongsae myeong''): a legendary bird # (어두울 명 ''eoduul myeong''): "dark"

People

People with the single-syllable given name Myung include: * Yun Myŏng (fl. 15th century), Joseon Dynasty scholar-official

As name element

One name containing this element, Myung-sook, was the fifth-most popular name for newborn girls in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in 1950. Names containing this element include: * Myung-hee (unisex) * Myung-hoon (masculine) * Myung-hwa (feminine) * Myung-hwan (masculine) * Myung-jun (masculine) * Myung-ok (feminine) * Myung-soo (masculine) * Myung-sook (feminine) * Myung-soon (feminine) * Myung-yong (masculine) * Jung-myung (masculine)

References