Kim is Korea's most common surname and is also widely found amongst the ethnic Koreans in China.
Kim is a common last name found among Overseas Chinese communities around the world. In fact, "Kim" is the transliteration of several different Chinese surnames. Its meaning varies depending on how it is spelled in Chinese, and which dialect it is pronounced in.
About 20 percent of South Korea's population of 49.3 million (2015 est.) has the family name Kim. That's about 10 million people. Lee is the second most common name, and Park (or Pak) is the third. All told, about 45 percent of Koreans have one of these three names!
1. Wáng (王) This is the most common surname in Mainland China, with 101.5 million bearers. This last name has a royal origin and also means “king.” 王 itself is a radical and can stand alone as an independent character.
Kim is Korea's most common surname and is also widely found amongst the ethnic Koreans in China.
Because family names such as Lee and Kim were among those used by royalty in ancient Korea, they were preferred by provincial elites and, later, by commoners when plumping for a last name.
The royal origin of the Surname Kim
In fact, for many centuries in Korea, surnames were rare and reserved exclusively for the royal and aristocratic families. The surname Kim has its roots in two separate royal families of Korea, the Silla dynasty and the Gaya confederacy.
The enduring popularity of the Kim family name can be traced back to its royal origins. Kim has its roots in two separate royal families; the Silla dynasty (57BC — 935AD) and the Gaya confederacy (42AD-562AD). When these two kingdoms united, the resulting merger led to Kim becoming one of the most popular family names.
Peak Popularity: Kim is a rare name in the U.S. and has never been in the top 1,000, but it is the 17th most popular name in Vietnam.
Khánh - In Sino-Vietnamese, "Khanh" means "to congratulate." It is more commonly seen among Vietnamese immigrants. Kim - This surname has origins as a Korean family name. It means "gold" or "metal."
In Russia Ким (Kim) is a diminutive/nickname of Ioakim (Russian: Иоаким), "Joachim". Its popularity in the early Soviet era was explained as it being also the acronym for Коммунистический Интернационал Молодежи (Kommunistichesky Internatsional Molodyozhi, Young Communist International).
金 is a Chinese character meaning gold or metal, it may refer to: Kangxi radical 167. Jin dynasty (1115–1234) Kim (Korean surname)
North Korean law does not formally ban marriage between people with the same last name, while the Civil Code of Republic of Korea inherited the prohibition on same-surname marriage from the colonial era.
The most common Korean surname (particularly in South Korea) is Kim, followed by Lee and Park.
Aegiya (애기야) – “Baby”
The word 애기 (aegi) is a cute way of saying 아기 (agi), which means “baby. This Korean term is used as a sweet way of saying “baby”.
Today, many Koreans have Kim, Park, and Lee as their last names. These “big three” are the prestigious Korean last names that are primarily associated with royals and the upper class.
However, Zhang Wei (张伟) is the most common full name in mainland China. The top five surnames in China – Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, Chen – are also the top five surnames in the world, each with over 70-100 million worldwide.
Zhāng Wěi 张伟, Wáng Wěi 王伟, and Lǐ Nà 李娜 are the three most common full names.
The three most common surnames in Mainland China are Li, Wang and Zhang, which make up 7.9%, 7.4% and 7.1% respectively. Together they number close to 300 million and are easily the most common surnames in the world.