Nayeon 나연

Nayeon name meaning: “beautiful + beautiful” (娜姸)

Nayeon is a Korean given name, most often given to girls. In hangul it is written 나연. Like most Korean names it can also be written in hanja, and the characters chosen decide what it means — the same sound can be written 3,362 different ways.

Nayeon of TWICE: Im Na-yeon is the eldest member of TWICE — Nayeon is her real given name, not a stage name.

About the name Nayeon

Nayeon (나연) is a two-syllable Korean name, with the syllables Na and Yeon. It can also be romanized as Na-yeon, using a hyphen to indicate the separate syllables. This name is mostly given to girls.

The meaning of Nayeon is shaped by the hanja chosen for each syllable. For the first syllable, Na (나), options include 娜 meaning "beautiful" or 羅 meaning "net." For the second syllable, Yeon (연), choices include 姸 also meaning "beautiful," 延 meaning "extend," or 娟 meaning "pretty." For example, a Nayeon could be written with 娜姸 to mean "beautiful beautiful," or with 羅延 to suggest "extended net." Another option, 娜娟, would convey "beautiful and pretty." The choice of hanja is what fixes the specific meaning for a Nayeon. As a practical tip for those living abroad, the unhyphenated Nayeon generally reads more naturally to English speakers. Im Na-yeon, the eldest member of TWICE, uses this name as her real given name.

Other spellings

The same name is romanized in several ways: Nayeon, Na-yeon. They are all 나연.

How to pronounce Nayeon

나연
Voice:

Say it as nah-yuhn (2 syllables). Korean doesn't stress one syllable the way English does, so give each beat roughly the same weight rather than saying NAH-yuhn.

  • The romanized "eo" is pronounced "uh", close to the vowel in "sun", not "ee-oh".

The recording is a synthesized standard Seoul voice; the respelling above is an English approximation of it. More on the rules: how to pronounce Korean names. To hear more spoken Korean, try Korean greetings with audio.

Five Elements (Ohaeng)

In Korean naming tradition each syllable carries an element, decided by the consonant it starts with. This is what a name sounds like in terms of energy.

  • 나 (starts with ㄴ)→Firebrightness, passion, visibility
  • 연 (starts with ㅇ)→Earthsteadiness, trust, holding things together

Hanja used for Nayeon

These are hanja characters legally registrable for each syllable, with their dictionary meanings. A parent picks one character per syllable, and that combination becomes the written meaning of the name.

나41 characters can be used

  • 娜beautiful아름다울 나
  • 羅net그물 라(나)
  • 那how, what어찌 나
  • 拿grasp, seize잡을 나
  • 奈how, what어찌 나
  • 柰how, what어찌 나
  • 拏hold fast붙잡을 나
  • 蓏fruit열매 라(나)

연82 characters can be used

  • 姸beautiful고울 연
  • 延extend늘일 연
  • 演spread out펼 연
  • 娟pretty예쁠 연
  • 衍wide넓을 연
  • 燕swallow, feast제비 연/잔치 연
  • 連connect잇닿을 련(연)
  • 蓮lotus flower연꽃 련(연)

Nayeon name FAQ

What does Nayeon mean in Korean?
A popular way to write Nayeon (나연) is 娜 (beautiful) + 姸 (beautiful), giving the meaning "beautiful + beautiful". The meaning depends on the hanja the parents choose — 나연 can be written 3,362 different ways.
Is Nayeon a Korean name?
Yes. Nayeon is a Korean given name written 나연 in hangul, mostly given to girls.
How do you write Nayeon in Korean?
In hangul it is 나연; a common hanja spelling is 娜姸. It is also romanized as Na-yeon.
What element is the name Nayeon?
By its sounds, Nayeon carries Fire + Earth in the Five Elements (Ohaeng) of Korean naming.

Names sharing a syllable

Nayeon belongs to someone else. Yours is drawn from your own birth chart — the four pillars of your birth date and hour decide which elements your name should carry.

Find your Korean name