What are the most popular baby names in Korea?

The most popular baby names for girls and boys in South Korea in the 2010s were Seo-yeon and Min-joon, respectively, a report said Monday. 

According to records of birth registrations compiled by the Supreme Court since the 1940s, Min-joon was crowned the most popular name throughout the 2000s and 2010s, while Seo-yeon ranked second in the 2000s and took the top spot in the 2010s. 

In the 1940s, the most popular girl’s name was Young-ja and for boys, it was Young-soo. This was followed by Young-sook and Young-soo in the 1950s, Mi-sook and Young-soo in the 1960s, Eun-joo and Jeong-hoon in the 1970s, Ji-hye and Ji-hoon in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, Yoo-jin and Ji-hoon were the most common names for girls and boys, respectively.

Showing a shift in baby name trends over the years, the most popular names in the 1940s -- Young-soo and Young-ja -- did not even make it to the top 20 list of names in the 2010s. Neither Min-joon nor Seo-yeon appeared in the top 20 list of names in the 1940s.

The report explained that names composed only of Hangeul letters and not Chinese letters have grown more popular over the years.

In 2008, Korean-only names accounted for 3.54 percent of total baby names, but they made up 7.7 percent last year. The most popular Hangeul names were Han-gyeol for boys and Sarang for girls.

The most commonly seen single-letter names were Joon for boys and Jin for girls.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)