Ji-hun

Ji-hun (also spelled Ji-hoon) is a common Korean masculine given name, written in Sino-Korean characters. The first element can be ji meaning "wisdom, intellect" (智) or "will, purpose, ambition" (志), while the second element hun typically means "meritorious deed, rank" (勛). Other hanja combinations are possible, as is customary in Korean naming.

History and popularity

Ji-hun has been a consistently popular name for South Korean baby boys. According to government data, it ranked fourteenth in 1970, first in both 1980 and 1990, and second in 2008, when 2,158 newborns received the name. Its popularity reflects the tradition of combining hanja with positive attributes like intelligence and ambition.

Notable bearers

• Kim Ji-hoon (1973–2013), South Korean singer
• Rain (born Jung Ji-hoon, 1982), international singer and actor
• Ju Ji-hoon (born 1982), actor
• Woozi (born Lee Ji-hoon, 1996), singer and member of boy band Seventeen

Related names

A common variant is Ji-hoon, which uses the same Sino-Korean roots but follows a revised Romanization system.

• Origin: Korean (Sino-Korean)
• Elements: ji (智/志 “wisdom” or “ambition”) + hun (勛 “deed”)
• Usage: South Korea
• Type: masculine given name