Woo (Korean name)
| Pronunciation | /wu/ |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Korean |
| Meaning | Different depending on Hanja |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Wu, Wo, Ou, U |
| Woo | |
| Hangul | 우 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | u |
| McCune–Reischauer | u |
| IPA | [u] |
Woo, also spelled Wu or Wo, Ou, U, is an uncommon Korean surname, a single-syllable Korean given name, and an element in many two-syllable Korean given names. As given name meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. There are 60 hanja with the reading "woo"[1] on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.
As a surname
As a surname, Woo may be written with either of two hanja (禹 and 于). Each has one bon-gwan: for the former, Danyang, Chungcheongbuk-do, and for the latter, Mokcheon-eup (목천읍), Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, both in what is today South Korea.[2] The 2000 South Korean census found 180,141 people with these family names.[3] In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 97.0% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Woo in their passports, while only 1.6% spelled it as Wu. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 1.4%) included U and Wo.[4]
People
People with these family names include:
- U Tak (1262-1342), Korean Confucian scholar during the Goryeo dynasty
- Woo Jang-choon (1898–1959), Korean-born Japanese botanist
- Woo Yong-gak (1929–2012), North Korean commando held in South Korea as one of the unconverted long-term prisoners
- Kyu Sung Woo (born 1941), South Korean architect
- U Tong-chuk (born 1942), North Korean politician
- Woo In-hee (died 1981), North Korean actress and mistress of Kim Jong-il
- Woo Bum-kon (1955–1982), South Korean police officer and spree killer
- Meredith Jung-En Woo (born 1958), South Korean-born American political scientist
- Woo Hee-young (born 1963), South Korean footballer
- Sung J. Woo (born 1971), South Korean-born American writer
- Hyo-Won Woo (born 1974), South Korean composer
- Woo Sung-yong (born 1974), South Korean footballer
- Woo Chul (born 1978), South Korean swimmer
- Woo Sun-hee (born 1978), South Korean handball player
- Masta Wu (born Woo Jin-won, 1978), South Korean rapper
- Woo Seung-je (born 1982), South Korean footballer
- Woo Seung-yeon (1983–2009), South Korean actress
- Woo Seung-jae (born 1986), South Korean wrestler
- Kevin Woo (born 1991), American singer of Korean descent
- Woo Do-hwan (born 1992), South Korean actor
- Woo Hye-lim (born 1992), South Korean singer and member of girl group Wonder Girls
- Zico (rapper) (born Woo Ji-ho, 1992), South Korean rapper, member of boy group Block B
- Woo Joo-sung (born 1993), South Korean footballer
- Woo Won-jae (born 1996), South Korean rapper
- Woo Jin-young (born 1997), South Korean singer and rapper
- Woo Ha-ram (born 1998), South Korean diver
As a given name
People
People with the single-syllable given name U or Woo include:
- Choe U (1166–1249), military leader of Goryeo
- Wang U (1079–1122), the personal name of King Yejong of Goryeo
- Wang U (1365–1389), the personal name of King U of Goryeo
- Yi U (1912–1945), member of the Korean Imperial household and grandson of Emperor Gojong
- Park Woo (born 1972), South Korean wrestler
First syllable
- Masculine
Second syllable
- Masculine
- Byung-woo
- Chang-woo
- Chul-woo
- Hyun-woo, 5th place in 1980, 2nd place in 1990, 3rd place in 2008, 5th place in 2009
- Jin-woo
- Jung-woo
- Ki-woo
- Kun-woo, 6th place in 2008, 7th place in 2009
- Min-woo
- Sang-woo
- Seung-woo
- Si-woo, 4th place in 2011, 5th place in 2013, 4th place in 2017
- Sung-woo
- Tae-woo
- Unisex
See also
References
- ^ 대법원 인명용 : 네이버 한자사전 "우"
- ^ "한국성씨일람" [List of Korean surnames]. Kyungpook National University. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
- ^ "성씨인구분포데이터 (Surname population and distribution data)". South Korea: National Statistics Office. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ 성씨 로마자 표기 방안: 마련을 위한 토론회 [Plan for romanisation of surnames: a preparatory discussion]. National Institute of the Korean Language. 25 June 2009. p. 60. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
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