Fun Facts About the Name Yoona
- 149 babies named Yoona: U.S. records list 149 babies given the name Yoona from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yoona Mean?
Yoona is most commonly a romanization of the Korean given name 윤아 (Yun-a). Korean given names are usually written in Hangul, which represents sound rather than meaning. A meaningful translation requires the Hanja (Chinese characters) that may underlie each syllable. The first syllable, 윤, can be represented by several Hanja, including 潤 ('moist, smooth, enrich'), 允 ('sincere, permit'), 尹 ('govern'), 昀 ('sunlight'), or 胤 ('descendant'). The second syllable, 아, can be represented by Hanja such as 娥 ('beautiful woman'), 雅 ('elegant'), 兒 ('child'), 我 ('self'), 亞 ('second, Asia'), or 芽 ('sprout'), among others. Because parents select the Hanja, two people named Yoona may have different written meanings. If the name is written only in Hangul, no lexical meaning is attached. Therefore, Yoona does not have one fixed meaning in the way that, for example, a Greek or Hebrew name often does.
When a specific Hanja pair is used, the meaning is the sum of its parts. For example, if 潤 ('smooth, enrich') is chosen for 윤 and 妸 ('beautiful woman') for 아, the resulting sense is built from those two characters. That meaning belongs to that particular Hanja pair, not to every name romanized as Yoona.
Yoona Name History & Origins
The name is Korean. Its Hangul form is 윤아, made of the syllables 윤 (yun) and 아 (a). In South Korea's Revised Romanization, it is normally written Yun-a; the spelling 'Yoona' uses the common romanization 'Yoon' for the syllable 윤, with 'a' for 아. This spelling appears in English-language contexts, especially where the surname Yun is written Yoon. The similar spelling Yuna often represents a different Korean name, 유나 (Yu-na), and is not necessarily the same name.
Because the name can be written with or without Hanja, its history is not a single line of descent. A Yoona written only in Hangul has no fixed lexical meaning. A Yoona written with Hanja has the meaning of the chosen characters, so two people with the same spoken name may have different written names and different meanings. The syllables themselves are old in Korean naming, but the romanized form 'Yoona' is modern and English-oriented.
A modern bearer is Im Yoon-ah, a South Korean singer and actress known professionally as Yoona and a member of the group Girls' Generation. Her name is one instance of the Korean name 윤아; the name is not derived from her.
How Popular is the Name Yoona?
Yoona has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #5,911 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,911 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 2024 | #11,035 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #9,581 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #17,671 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #13,419 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #7,948 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2019 | #9,706 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #8,592 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #12,679 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #12,840 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #10,126 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #19,134 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #13,106 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #10,403 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #14,907 | 7 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yoona Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Yoona's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yoona's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.