Of the nearly 50 million South Koreans living in the country, the most common surnames are Kim (10.7 million), Lee (7.3 million), and Park (4.2 million), which is why it’s no surprise that many K-Pop idols have these as their last name! There are a few idols, however, who have fairly rare surnames. Here are the 12 K-Pop idols who have the rarest surnames in the industry, based on South Korea’s latest census from 2015.
1. Jiwon (Sechskies)
Full name: Eun Jiwon
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 16,894 (0.034% of Koreans)
2. Jessi
Full name: Ho Hyunjoo/Jessica Ho
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 326,770 (0.66%)
3. Miyoun (former Baby V.O.X)
Full name: Kan Miyoun
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 2,520 (.005%)
4. Taecyeon (2PM)
Full name: Ok Taecyeon
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 25.107 (0.051%)
5. Baekhyun (EXO)
Full name: Byun Baekhyun
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 138,789 (0.279%) — Specifically, Baekhyun’s Byun is the Wonju Byun, which he shares with 60,633 people. There is also a Chogye or Milyang Byun, which comprises of 78,156 people.
6. Jaehyun (Golden Child)
Full name: Bong Jaehyun
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 12,927 (0.026%)
7. Ong Seongwu
Full name: Ong Seongwu
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 967 (0.0019%). Ong Seongwu’s surname is from the Okcheon Ong clan, which is the majority (837) of the Ong surnames in South Korea.
8. Danielle (NewJeans)
Full name: Mo Jihye/Danielle Marsh
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 21,912 (0.059%). Danielle shares her surname with the vast majority of Koreans who have the surname Mo.
9. Seungkwan (SEVENTEEN)
Full name: Boo Seungkwan
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 10,536 (0.021%)
10. P.O (Block B)
Full name: Pyo Jihoon
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 30,743 (0.062%)
11. Jaehyun (BOYNEXTDOOR)
Full name: Myung Jaehyun
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 29,110 (0.059%)
12. Hwanwoong (ONEUS)
Full name: Yeo Hwanwoong
Number/Percentage of Koreans with same surname: 80,656 (0.163%). Hwanwoong shares his surname with the majority of Yeo surname holders, who originate from the Hamyang or Seongju clans (60,522). The other 20,134 originate from the Uiryeong clan.