Korea

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 14 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Korea is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Korean given name347 records spelled Korea17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in South Korea, North Korea

  Also written Han-Kook, Han-Guk, Han-Kuk, Hangook, 한국국제학교

• Spanish surname218 records spelled Korea52 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, United States

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Corea, Coreia, Corée, Coree, Coréa

• German name36 records spelled Korea4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Austria, Germany, Switzerland

  Also written Koriya

36 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Korea is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, country, Asia

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In Czech, Korea (a geographic region consisting of two countries in East Asia, commonly known as South Korea and North Korea; formerly a single country)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, A geographic region consisting of two countries in East Asia, commonly known as South Korea and North Korea; formerly a single country.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Esperanto, Korean (of or pertaining to Korean people, the Korean language, or the Korean Peninsula)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In aot, big metal pan

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 34 years between 1986–2024. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 42 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Korea?

Our records include 131,529 bearers of Korea across 5 countries — a sample of the full distribution.

In which country does Korea have the most bearers?

Korea is most frequently recorded in the United States, where it is most often spelled korea.

What does the name Korea mean?

Recorded meaning: The Korean peninsula, divided after 1945 into North and South Korea.