Seung (Korean name)


Seung, also spelled Sung, is an uncommon Korean surname, a single-syllable Korean given name, and a common element in two-syllable Korean given names. As a given name, its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. There are 17 hanja with the reading seung on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.

Seung
Pronunciation/sʊŋ/
Origin
Word/nameKorean
MeaningDifferent depending on Hanja
Other names
Alternative spellingSung
Seung
Hangul
승
Hanja
Revised RomanizationSeung
McCune–ReischauerSŭng
IPA[sɯŋ]

As a surname

There are two hanja which may be used to write the surname Seung, each indicating different lineages. The 2000 South Korean census found 3,304 people with these surnames.[1]

More common (承)

The more common Seung surname is written with a hanja meaning "inherit" (承; 이을 승; ieul seung). The 2000 South Korean census found 2,494 people with this family name, and 762 households.[1] The surviving bon-gwan (origin of a clan lineage, not necessarily the actual residence of the clan members) at that time included:

  1. Yeonil: 1,828 people and 568 households.[1] They claim descent from Seung Gae (承愷), a general under Jeongjong, 10th monarch of Goryeo.[2][3]
  2. Gwangsan: 643 people and 188 households.[1] This is a different name for the Yeonil Seung clan, claiming descent from the same ancestor.[2]
  3. Yangju: Six people and two households.[1]
  4. Other or undistinguished bon-gwan: 17 people and four households.[1]

People with this surname include:

  • T. K. Seung (born 1930), Korean-born American philosopher and literary critic
  • Seung H-Sang (born Seung Hyo-sang, 1952), South Korean architect
  • Sung Hyang-sim (born 1999), North Korean footballer
  • Sebastian Seung, American physicist and neuroscientist of Korean descent

Less common (昇)

The less common Seung surname is written with a hanja meaning "rise" (昇; 오를 승; oreul seung). The 2000 South Korean census found 810 people with this family name, and 239 households.[1] The surviving bon-gwan at that time included:

  • Namwon: 613 people and 183 households[1]
  • Changpyeong: 134 people and 39 households[1]
  • Geumseong: 20 people and five households[1]
  • Miryang: 14 people and three households[1]
  • Naju: Six people and three households[1]
  • Other or undistinguished bon-gwan: 21 people and four households[1]

In given names

Hanja and meaning

Article 44 of South Korea's Act on Registration of Family Relations gives the Supreme Court the power to define the list of hanja permitted for use in given names. Under the Supreme Court's regulations, that list consists of the Basic Hanja for educational use and a list of additional hanja permitted for use in given names. Among those hanja, there are 17 with the reading seung, plus one variant form:[4]

  1. 乘 (탈 승; tal seung): "to ride"
  2. 承 (이을 승; ieul seung): "to inherit"
  3. 勝 (이길 승; igil seung): "to win"
  4. 昇 (오를 승; oreul seung): "to rise"
  5. 僧 (중 승; jung seung): "monk"
  6. 丞 (도울 승; toul seung): "to help"
  7. 陞 (오를 승; oreul seung): "to rise"
  8. 繩 (노끈 승; nokkeun seung): "rope"
  9. 蠅 (파리 승; pari seung): "fly"
  10. 升 (오를 승; oreul seung): "to rise"
  11. 榺 (잉아 승; ing-a seung): "heddle"
  12. 氶 (이을 승; ieul seung): "to inherit"
  13. 塍 (밭두둑 승; batduduk seung): "ridge"
  14. 㞼 (정승 승; jeongseung seung): "to flatter"
  15. 陹 (오를 승; oreul seung): "to rise"
  16. 鬙 (머리 헝클어질 승; meori heongkeurojil seung): "to have tangled hair"
  17. 㴍 (물 이름 승; mul ireum seung): used in the name of a body of water

First syllable

Second syllable

People

People with the single-syllable given name Seung include:

  • Seong Seung (died 1456), Joseon Dynasty soldier
  • Park Seung (born 1936), South Korean banker
  • Suh Sung (born 1945), Zainichi Korean who was held as a political prisoner in South Korea for 19 years

See also

References
  1. "행정구역(구시군)/성씨·본관별 가구 및 인구" [Family names by administrative region (district, city, county): separated by bon-gwan, households and individuals]. Korean Statistical Information Service. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  2. 연일승씨(延日承氏) [Yeonil Seung clan]. Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  3. 광산 승씨(光山承氏) [Gwangsan Seung clan]. Bucheon: Jokbo Library. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. "가족관계의 등록 등에 관한 규칙" [Regulations on Registration of Family Relations]. Regulation No. 2954 of 29 January 2021 (in Korean).
  5. "한국인이 가장 줗아하는 이름은 무엇일까?". babyname.co.kr. Retrieved 2012-11-09.


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