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So, also spelled Soh, is a Korean family name and an element in Korean given names. Its meaning depends on the hanja used to write it.

Family name

The Korean surname So is normally written with either of two hanja, indicating different lineages:

• 蘇 (되살아날 소; doesaranal so, 차조기 소; chajogi so): The largest bon-gwan is Jinju. This is the more common of the two lineages; the 2000 South Korean census found 39,552 people with this family name, belonging to 12,270 households. Most were located in Seoul (9,494), Jeollabuk-do (8,579), or Gyeonggi-do (7,144).
• 邵 (땅 이름 소; ddang ireum so, 성씨 소; seongssi so): The largest bon-gwan is Pyongsan, whose members trace the lineage back to Myeongjong of Goryeo. This is the less common of the two lineages; the 2000 South Korean census found 9,904 people with this family name, belonging to 3,096 households. Most were also located in Seoul (2,424), Gyeonggi-do (2,101), or Jeollabuk-do (1,189).
• 肖 (꺼질 소; ggeojil so): . The 2000 South Korean census found one person with this surname, living in Jeju-do, who was not a member of a household. There were also an additional 70 people who wrote their surname with the same hanja, but pronounced it Cho (초) instead; 39 of them lived in Jeju-do as well.

In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 91% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as So in their passports, while 9% spelled it Soh.

Koreans with these family names include:

• So Chae-won (born 1997), South Korean compound archer
• So Chan-whee (born Kim Kyoung-hee, 1972), South Korean singer
• So Hee-jung (born 1973), South Korean actress
• So Hyun-kyung (born 1965), South Korean television screenwriter
• So Ji-sub (born 1977), South Korean actor
• So Joo-yeon (born 1993), South Korean actress
• June-Young Soh (born 1965), South Korean musical director
• Ky-Chun So (born 1958), South Korean theologian
• So Yi-hyun (born Jo Woo-jung, 1984), South Korean actress
• So Yoo-jin (born 1981), South Korean actress
• So Jung-hwan (born 2005), Member of Treasure

In given names

Names with this element

Korean names containing the element "so" include:

• So-hee
• So-hyun
• So-won
• So-yeon
• So-yi
• So-young

The name Sora is not composed of two separate hanja characters "so" and "ra", but rather comes from a single native Korean word meaning "conch shell".

Hanja and meaning

There are 45 hanja with the reading "so", and variant forms of six of those, on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names; they are:

1. 小 (작을 소; jageul so): "small"
2. 少 (적을 소; jeogeul so; 젊을 소; jeolmeul so); "few", "young"
3. 所 (바 소; ba so): "place"
4. 消 (사라질 소; sarajil so): "disappear"
5. 素 (본디 소; bondi so; 흴 소; hoel so): "originally"; "white"
6. 笑 (웃음 소; useum so): "laugh"
   • 咲 (variant)
7. 召 (부를 소; bureul so): "summon"
8. 昭 (밝을 소; balgeul so): "bright"
9. 蘇 (되살아날 소; doesaranal so; 차조기 소; chajogi so): "revive"; Perilla frutescens
   • 甦 (variant)
10. 騷 (떠들 소; ddeodeul so): "clamour"
11. 燒 (사를 소; sareul so): "burn"
12. 訴 (호소할 소; hosohal so): "complain"
13. 掃 (쓸 소; sseul so): "sweep"
14. 疏 (소통할 소; sotonghal so): "connect"
    • 疎 (variant)
15. 蔬 (나물 소; namul so): "vegetable"
16. 沼 (못 소; mot so): "pond"
17. 炤 (밝을 소; balgeul so): "illuminate"
18. 紹 (이을 소; ireul so): "continue"
19. 邵 (땅 이름 소; ddang ireum so, 성씨 소; seongssi so): name of a country; used as a surname
20. 韶 (풍류 이름 소; pungryu ireum so):
21. 巢 (새집 소; saejip so): "nest"
22. 遡 (거스를 소; geoseureul so): "go upstream"
    • 溯 (variant)
23. 柖 (흔들릴 소; heundeullil so): "wavering of a tree"
24. 玿 (아름다운 옥 소; areumdaun ok so): "beautiful jade"
25. 嘯 (휘파람 불 소; hwiparam bul so): "whistle"
26. 塑 (흙 빚을 소; heuk bijeul so): "sculpt in clay"
27. 宵 (밤 소; bam so): "nighttime"
28. 搔 (긁을 소; geulgeul so): "scrape"
29. 梳 (얼레빗 소; eollebit so): "comb"
30. 瀟 (강 이름 소; gang ireum so): name of a river
31. 瘙 (피부병 소; pibubyeong so): "itch"
32. 篠 (조릿대 소; joritdae so): sasa borealis (a species of bamboo)
33. 簫 (퉁소 소; tungso so): tungso (a Korean traditional flute)
34. 蕭 (쓸쓸할 소; sseulsseulhal so): "solitary"
35. 逍 (노닐 소; nonil so): "stroll"
36. 銷 (녹일 소; nogil so): "melt"
37. 愫 (정성 소; jeongseong so): "sincerity"
38. 穌 (깨어날 소; gaeeonal so; 긁어모을 소; geulgeomoeul so): ; "awaken"; "collect"
39. 卲 (높을 소; nopeul so): "high"
40. 霄 (하늘 소; haneul so): "sky"
    • 䨭 (variant)
41. 劭 (힘쓸 소; himsseul so): "strive"
42. 䘘 (깨끗할 소; ggaeggeuthal so; 멈출 소; meomchul so): "halt"; "pure"
43. 璅 (옥돌 소; okdol so): "gemstone"
44. 傃 (향할 소; hyanghal so): "look towards"
45. 䴛 (소금 소; sogeum so): "salt"

See also

• List of Korean names

References

1. "소씨(蘇氏)의 유래와 본관" [Origin and bon-gwan of the family name So]. Association for Korean Studies. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
2. ^ "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 23 October 2015.
3. 최신한글판韓國人의姓譜. 民衆書閣. p. 521. OCLC 28982997.
4. 성씨 로마자 표기 방안: 마련을 위한 토론회 [Plan for romanisation of surnames: a preparatory discussion]. National Institute of the Korean Language. 25 June 2009. p. 59. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
5. Jeon, Su-tae (19 October 2009). "사람 이름 짓기" [Making a name]. The Hankyoreh. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
6. "소라". Naver Korean Dictionary. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
7. "인명용 한자표" [Table of hanja for use in personal names] (PDF). Seoul: Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
8. 유니코드 한자사전. National Library of the Republic of Korea. Retrieved 23 October 2015.

• Surnames
• Korean-language surnames
• Korean given names