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.[1] As given name meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. There are 17 hanja with the reading "seung"[2] 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
勝, 承, 昇, 升, 陞, and others
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.[3]

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.[3] 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[3] They claim descent from Seung Gae (承愷), a general under Jeongjong, 10th monarch of Goryeo.[4][5]
  2. Gwangsan: 643 people and 188 households.[3] This is a different name for the Yeonil Seung clan, claiming descent from the same ancestor.[4]
  3. Yangju: Six people and two households[3]
  4. Other or undistinguished bon-gwan: 17 people and four households[3]

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.[3] The surviving bon-gwan at that time included:

  • Namwon: 613 people and 183 households[3]
  • Changpyeong: 134 people and 39 households[3]
  • Geumseong: 20 people and five households[3]
  • Miryang: 14 people and three households[3]
  • Naju: Six people and three households[3]
  • Other or undistinguished bon-gwan: 21 people and four households[3]

In given names

First syllable

Second syllable

People

People with the single-syllable given name Seung include:

  • Seong Seung (d. 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. List of Korean given names
  2. 대법원 인명용 : 네이버 한자사전 "승"
  3. "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.
  4. 연일승씨(延日承氏) [Yeonil Seung clan]. Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  5. 광산 승씨(光山承氏) [Gwangsan Seung clan]. Bucheon: Jokbo Library. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  6. List of the most popular given names in South Korea
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