<< The origin and meaning of the names of K-Pop groups and idols
This is an extension of the article explaining the origin and meaning of the names of ten of the most popular K-Pop groups, which you can read about here. The same format will be used in this guide, which will explain the meaning of more names, focusing on boy groups. This is a work in progress, and more artists will be added over time. The artists here reflect the ones included in the introductory guide to K-Pop boy groups, but with sub-units listed together with their group. All artists are listed in alphabetical order.
List of artists
Ateez
Ateez stands for “A Teenager Z”, a combination of “A to Z” and “teenager”. This reflects the idea of being young and doing everything they can, as well as the aim of making music that is liked by everyone.
Members:
- Seonghwa – real name: Park Seonghwa.
- Hongjoong – real name: Kim Hongjoong.
- Yunho – real name: Jeong Yunho.
- Yeosang – real name: Kang Yeosang.
- San – real name: Choi San.
- Mingi – real name: Song Mingi.
- Wooyoung – real name: Jung Wooyoung.
- Jongho – real name: Choi Jongho.
BigBang
The name was chosen to represent the idea of the group causing an explosive new beginning for K-Pop, like the Big Bang.
Members:
- Taeyang – in Korean 태양 (taeyang) means “Sun”. This reflects his desire to shine brightly like the Sun.
- G‑Dragon – from his real name: Kwon Ji Yong. G is pronounced as Ji, while in Korean 용 (yong) means “dragon”.
- Daesung – real name: Kang Daesung.
Former members:
- T.O.P – from “top”, this name was given to him by singer Se7en, with the idea that he was going to be at the top of the entertainment industry.
- Seungri – in Korean 승리 (seungri) means “victory”, and this words has the same first syllable as his real name: Lee Seunghyun.
BTS
See BTS
Enhypen
The name is inspired by the punctuation mark hyphen (-), with the “en” coming from the en dash (–). This name gives the idea of the members connecting with each other to grow together.
Members:
- Heeseung – real name: Lee Heeseung.
- Jay – real name: Jay Park.
- Jake – real name: Jake Sim.
- Sunghoon – real name: Park Sunghoon.
- Sunoo – from his real name: Kim Seonwoo.
- Jungwon – real name: Yang Jungwon.
- Ni‑ki – shortening of his real name: Nishimura Riki.
Exo
See Exo
Got7
The name originated from best-selling boy group g.o.d, as J.Y. Park, the producer who created Got7, was initially supposed to debut with them when they were called Got6. Plans changed, and g.o.d debuted as a five-member group with a new name. J.Y. Park reworked g.o.d’s original name by changing Got6 to Got7, with a reference to the number of members in the group, and the idea of seven being a lucky number. Overall, the name represents seven lucky people getting together to form a group.
Members:
- Mark – real name: Mark Yien Tuan.
- Jay B – from his real name: Lim Jaebeom. Jay sounds like Jae, while B is the first letter of the second syllable of his name.
- Jackson – real name: Jackson Wang.
- Jinyoung – real name: Park Jinyoung.
- Youngjae – real name: Choi Youngjae.
- BamBam – inspired by The Flintstones character Bamm-Bamm Rubble, a baby with superhuman strength.
- Yugyeom – real name: Kim Yugyeom.
iKon
The name comes from the idea that the group would be “an icon for Korea”, with the K coming from “Korea”.
Members:
- Jay – from the first letter of his real name: Kim Jinhwan.
- former stage name: Jinhwan – real name: Kim Jinhwan.
- Song – from his real name: Song Yunhyeong.
- former stage name: Yunhyeong – real name: Song Yunhyeong
- Bobby – he chose this stage name because of his admiration for Bob Marley.
- DK – from the first and last letter of his real name: Kim Donghyuk.
- former stage name: Donghyuk – real name: Kim Donghyuk.
- Ju‑ne – from his real name: Koo Junhoe.
- former stage name: Junhoe – real name: Koo Junhoe.
- Chan – from his real name: Jung Chanwoo.
- former stage name: Chanwoo – real name: Jung Chanwoo.
Former members:
- B.I – stands for “Be I”, representing his ambition of always being himself.
NCT
NCT stands for Neo Culture Technology, a term used to describe the group’s unique concept of infinite possibilites with a new and experimental approach to music and culture.
Sub-units:
NCT 127 – 127° is the longitude coordinate of the city of Seoul.
NCT Dream – the word “dream” was chosen to embody the theme of youth and innocence, fitting the sub-unit’s concept.
NCT U – the U stands for “united”, representing how the members unite in different formations every time.
NCT Wish – the word “wish” for chosen to symbolize the members’ ambition to fulfill the wishes of their fans.
WayV – short for “we are your vision”, which represents their goal to be the ultimate vision for fans. In Chinese, their name is rendered as the similar-sounding 威神V (wēishén V), with 威神 meaning “powerful gods”.
Members:
- Johnny – from his real name: John Jun Suh.
- Taeyong – real name: Lee Taeyong.
- Yuta – real name: Nakamoto Yuta.
- Kun – real name: Qian Kun.
- Doyoung – from his real name: Kim Dongyoung.
- Ten – a nickname that was given to his as a kid, from the Thai word นกกระเต็น (nók grà-dten), which means “kingfisher”, a kind of bird.
- Jaehyun – real name: Jeong Jaehyun.
- WinWin – no official explanation, probably chosen from the word “win”, symbolizing prosperity and success. He is from China, and in Chinese languages reduplicating a syllable is a common way to form an affectionate or cute nickname.
- Jungwoo – real name: Kim Jungwoo.
- Mark – real name: Mark Lee.
- Xiaojun – from his real name: Xiao Dejun.
- Hendery – from his English name: Hendery Wong.
- Renjun – real name: Huang Renjun.
- Jeno – real name: Lee Jeno.
- Haechan – from the Korean words 해 (hae), which means “Sun”, and 찬 (chan), which means “full”. Together, the name means “full Sun”.
- Jaemin – real name: Na Jaemin.
- YangYang – real name: Liu Yangyang.
- Chenle – real name: Zhong Chenle.
- Jisung – real name: Park Jisung.
- Sion – real name: Oh Sion.
- Riku – real name: Maeda Riku.
- Yushi – real name: Tokuno Yūshi.
- Jaehee – chosen as a name that is easier to pronounce than his real name, Daeyoung, and to avoid confusion with the two other NCT members with similar names, Taeyong and Doyoung.
- Ryo – real name: Hirose Ryo.
- Sakuya – real name: Fujinaga Sakuya.
Former members:
- Taeil – real name: Moon Taeil.
- Lucas – no official explanation, probably chosen as a name that is easy for international fans to pronounce and remember.
- Shotaro – real name: Osaki Shotaro.
- Sungchan – real name: Jung Sungchan.
Pentagon
The name refers to the idea of being a flawless group that has all perfect abilities in all five categories of idol skills: vocal/rap, dance, teamwork, talent, and mind.
Members:
- Jinho – real name: Jo Jinho.
- Hui – from the first syllable of his real name: Lee Hoetaek.
- Hongseok – real name: Yang Hongseok.
- Shinwon – real name: Go Shinwon.
- Yeo One – Yeo comes from his real name: Yeo Changgu. One comes from the idea of being the number one or the only one in his fans’ hearts.
- Yanan – real name: Yan An.
- Yuto – real name: Adachi Yuto.
- Kino – from a combination of the first letter of his surname, Kang, and the word “innovation”, chosen to represent his goal of bringing something new to the K-Pop world.
- Wooseok – real name: Jung Wooseok.
Former members:
- E’Dawn – from “dawn of the East”, which represents the idea of a new beginning.
Seventeen
See Seventeen
Stray Kids
See Stray Kids
Tomorrow X Together (TXT)
Treasure
The name Treasure comes from the idea of the members being hidden gems and a valuable treasure that will become the next major group in the K-Pop industry.
Members:
- Hyunsuk – real name: Choi Hyunsuk.
- Jihoon – real name: Park Jihoon.
- Yoshi – from his real name: Kanemoto Yoshinori.
- Junkyu – real name: Kim Junkyu.
- Jaehyuk – real name: Yoon Jaehyuk.
- Asahi – real name: Hamada Asahi.
- Doyoung – real name: Kim Doyoung.
- Haruto – real name: Watanabe Haruto.
- Jeongwoo – real name: Park Jeongwoo.
- Junghwan – real name: So Junghwan.
Former members:
- Mashiho – real name: Takata Mashiho.
- Bang Yedam – real name: Bang Yedam.