Korean Last Names: The Most Common Surnames Explained
Updated July 2, 2026
The most common Korean last names are 김 (Kim), 이 (Lee), and 박 (Park), and Korean surnames come first, before the given name. Here are the ten most common surnames with their Hangul and the spellings you will see.
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 김 | Kimliterally: about one in five KoreansGim in strict romanization |
| 이 | Leealso spelled Yi or Rhee; strict romanization I |
| 박 | Parkalso Pak; strict romanization Bak |
| 최 | Choistrict romanization Choe |
| 정 | Jungalso Chung; strict romanization Jeong |
| 강 | Kangstrict romanization Gang |
| 조 | Choalso Jo |
| 윤 | Yoonstrict romanization Yun |
| 장 | Jangalso Chang |
| 임 | Limalso Rim; strict romanization Im |
Want these to stick? Hear them in real context: LingoBinge surfaces words like these while you watch Korean shows on Netflix, and saves them for spaced review.
Hear them in: Crash Landing on You, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the most common Korean last name?
- 김 (Kim) is the most common Korean surname, held by about one in five Koreans, followed by 이 (Lee) and 박 (Park). Korean names put the family name first, so in 김민준 the surname is 김 (Kim).
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