Yeong-gi

Yeong-gi is a Korean masculine given name. According to South Korean government data, it was the fourth-most popular name for baby boys born in 1940. The name is composed of two Sino-Korean syllables: yeong (영), which can mean “glory, honour, flourish, prosper” when written with the hanja 榮 (yeong), and gi (기), meaning “rise, stand up, begin” from the character 起 (gi). Many other hanja combinations are possible, as is typical for Korean names drawn from Chinese characters.

Notable Bearers

Several individuals have borne the name Yeong-gi or its Romanized variants. In sports, Choi Yeong-gi (1925–2004) was a South Korean track and field athlete who competed all the way into his seventies. Kim Yeong-gi (born 1936) played basketball for South Korea in the 1960s. Min Young-ki (born 1976) was a football defender in the K-League Challenge, while Kim Yeong-gi (born 1985) is a Zainichi Korean footballer who played in Japan’s J.League. In fencing, Son Young-ki (born 1985) won a bronze medal in foil at the 2006 Asian Games.

Notable people using variant spellings include An Yong-gi (born 1929), a North Korean spy who was among South Korea’s unconverted long-term prisoners, and Young-Kee Kim (born 1962), a South Korean-born American physicist who has made significant contributions to particle physics. Ryu Young-gi, better known as Verbal, is a Zainichi Korean rapper and member of the hip-hop duo m-flo. The name also appears in the form Oh Young-ki (born 1965), a South Korean footballer.

Variant Forms

The spelling Young-gi is the most common Romanization variant, reflecting the Revised Romanization of Korean. Other forms include Young-ki, Young-kee, and Yong-gi.

• Meaning: glory, honour, flourish, prosper + rise, stand up, begin
• Origin: Sino-Korean (hanja-based)
• Type: masculine given name
• Usage regions: Korea, especially South Korea