姓

Usually considered a phono-semantic compound:

女 (녀, “woman”) – semantic component (related to birth or lineage);

生 (생, “to be born”) – phonetic component.

Some scholars also interpret it as a compound ideograph since 生 also implies “birth,” giving the full character the meaning of “a woman giving birth” → lineage → surname.

Shuowen Jiezi (説文解字 shuōwén jiězì) explains:

“姓 is that from which a person is born. In ancient times, sacred mothers conceived children by sensing heaven (感天), hence they were called sons of heaven (天子).”

This shows that birth, lineage, and divinity were intertwined in ancient thinking.

The character appears in oracle bone script (甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén), showing its long historical presence.

In ancient societies, surnames were matrilineal (passed down from the mother), and the presence of 女 reflects this.

In modern Korean:

성씨 (姓氏) = surname/clan name;

성(姓)을 하사하다 = “to bestow a surname” (common in historical texts).

In Old Okjeo language (ancient Korean region), the reading of 姓 was reportedly 구쿠.

Many people confuse 姓 and 性:

姓 - family name, inherited surname (e.g., 김, 이, 박);

性 - gender, nature, disposition.

They are completely different characters.