54% of Korean people bear the family name Kim, Lee, Park, Choi, Jeong, or variants thereof.
Kim, Gim
Lee, Yi, Rhee
Park, Pak
Choi
Jung, Jeong, Chung, Cheong
Choi (Korean: 최; Hanja: 崔) is a Korean family surname. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were around 2.3 million people by this name in South Korea or roughly 4.7% of the population.[1] In English-speaking countries, it is most often anglicized Choi, and sometimes also Chey, Choe or Chwe. Ethnic Koreans in the former USSR prefer the form Tsoi (Tsoy) especially as a transcription of the Cyrillic Цой.
Origin
According to Samguk Sagi, the Gyeongju clan originates from chief Sobeoldori (소벌도리, 蘇伐都利) of Goheochon (고허촌, 高墟村), one of six villages that united to found Silla; The Gyeongju clan traces their origin back to Choi Chiwon (857–10th century), a noted Korean scholar, philosopher, and poet of the late Unified Silla period (668–935).
One theory of origin suggests that Haeju clan's progenitor Ch'oe Ch'ung (984–1068) was given the surname 崔 during the reign of Goryeo king Mokjong.
The progenitor of the Chungju clan is General Choi Seung (최승, 崔陞), also known as Choi Woo (최우, 崔偶), of Silla (known as Cui Sheng in the Tang dynasty)
The progenitor of the Nangju clan is Choi Heun (최흔, 崔昕) of Silla who was a native of Yeongam (Nangju) of the southern Jeolla region.
There are roughly 160 clans of Chois.[citation needed] Most of these are quite small. However, Choi is the 4th most common surname in Korea. The largest by far is the Gyeongju Choi clan, with a 2000 South Korean population of 976,820. The Gyeongju Choe claim the Silla scholar Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn as their founder.[2]
Choi is written with the Hanja character 崔, meaning "a governor who oversees the land and the mountain".
In Korean, 최 is usually pronounced [tɕʰwe] "Chwe" or “Chey” except by some older speakers who pronounce it [tɕʰø] (this vowel sound is similar to the German ö [ø]). In English, it is most often pronounced /ˈtʃɔɪ/ "Choy", which sounds clearly different to its proper pronunciation but some go by “Chey”.
Prominent people of the past
Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn (1149–1219), military dictator of the Goryeo period
Ch'oe U (1166–1249), military dictator of the Goryeo period
Ch'oe Mu-sŏn (1330–1395), Korean scientist, inventor, and military commander
Ch'oe Yŏng (1316–1388), military general of the Goryeo period
Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn (859–?), Korean philosopher during the Silla dynasty
Choe Han-gi (1803–1877), Korean Confucian scholar and philosopher
Choe Je-u (1824–1864), founder of the Donghak movement
Choe Man-ri (???–1445), associate professor and early critic of hangul
^"2015년 인구주택총조사 전수집계결과 보도자료" [Results of the 2015 Census of Population and Housing survey]. Korean Statistical Information Service. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
This page lists people with the surnameChoi. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
