English name using Generation Character

Creating an English name with the meaning of Generation Characters

The ancestors of the Wonju Byun clan created the names of their descendants in Hanja using Generation Characters. Hangul names are based on Hanja, and the Generation Character was created by the Wonju Byun clan's family association for up to 30 generations in 2002. You can tell which generation you are from by the Generation Character in the name. Generation Character was created based on the Five Elements.
The Five Elements defined the basic elements that make up all things in the universe as Wood木, Fire火, Earth土, Soil土, Metal金, and Water水. And also, the radicals of the Generation Character used for the character are Wood木, Fire火, Earth土, Soil土, Metal金, and Water水.
The radical of a Generation Character is a component of a letter and is located on the left or bottom of the letter.
The letters for the radicals of Fire and Water are as follows.

If your name contains letters other than Generation Character, refer to the following Table and apply to Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water.
It is often compared to the ‘Western Four Element Theory’. The four elements are Fire, Water, Soil, and Air. When comparing the ‘Western Four Elements Theory’ with the ‘Five Elements Theory’, there is a difference in that there is Wood and Metal instead of Air in the Western Four Elements Theory.
When naming in English, there will be no problem if you read Hanja or Hangul name in English using the Hangul pronunciation, but if you create a name in pure English using the Five Elements, which are the legacy of your ancestors, it can be a new challenge. The following explains how to name your descendants in pure English using the Five Elements and hopes that this method will be helpful to future generations.
However, the following methods are not mandatory, and whether they are implemented is left to future generations. In addition, the writer clarifies that he is not a naming expert and explains how to make a name by only applying the relationship of ‘Coexistence of the Five Elements’ and ‘and ‘Opposite of the Five Elements.’

In general, Korean names, excluding surnames, are made up of two letters, each with meaning. One letter is the Generation Character, and the other letter is given by the parents to match the Generation Character. If you create a name by adding an English word to it, it becomes the first name and middle name in English, but it is a name composed of one word name made up of two Hanja or Korean letters and one English word. Or it can be said to be three separate words with meaning.
The writer thinks the most ideal method is to use Hanja or Korean name using Generation Character and an English name as the first name or middle name, which is the most common method.
When naming Hanja or Hangul, it is judged that it will be somewhat difficult to apply all theories such as the Five Elements and Four Pillars to the name without the help of an expert. There are also websites that create Hanja or Hangul names for descendants by providing descendant information (surname, Generation Character, date of birth and time of birth) on the Internet. http://www.erumy.com/charge/hanja.aspx or https://www.agiirum.com/
In this booklet, the writer will content oneself with naming individuals’ preferred names based solely on the theory of ‘Coexistence of the Five Elements and ‘Opposite of the Five Elements.’
Generations are divided by letters based on the Five Elements as follows. Wonju Byun's Generation Character is that the 24th generation corresponds to Water, the 25th generation corresponds to Wood, the 26th generation corresponds to Fire, and the 27th generation corresponds to Soil. The 28th generation corresponds to Metal, the 29th generation corresponds to Water, the 30th generation corresponds to Wood, and the 31st generation corresponds to Fire. The Five Elements are repeated as Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water.
When applying the theory of ‘Coexistence of the Five Elements’ to naming, it is as follows. The theory of 'Coexistence' means that the meanings of the first and second letters of a name are combined and harmonized to benefit the meaning of each letter.
'The Opposite of the Five Elements' means that the combination of the following letters can give a person bad energy and explains that the order in which the letters are combined is important. The reverse order in which the letters does not have any negative effects. Here, 'bad energy' means 'a life that a person did not wish for' has occurred, but it is not certain whether 'a life that a person did not wish for' is ultimately beneficial to the person. In addition, the teachings of Zhou Yi (周易) are that a person with a strong will, no matter the environment, can overcome 'a life that no one wanted' and change it into a good environment. This means that even if the name you have already chosen does not fit the principles of the ‘Five Elements’, you can overcome bad energy with your own will. Zhou Yi (周易) is a ‘book describing the principles of world change’ used by the Zhou (周) Dynasty. It is not good if the letter meaning ‘Wood’ is followed by the letter meaning ‘Soil’. It is not good if the letter meaning ‘Soil’ is followed by the letter meaning ‘Water’. It is not good if the letter meaning ‘Water’ is followed by the letter meaning ‘Fire’. It is not good if the letter meaning ‘Fire’ is followed by the letter meaning ‘Metal’. It is not good if the letter meaning ‘Metal’ is followed by the letter meaning ‘Wood’.
The following is an easy way to draw a picture of 'Coexistence of the Five Elements' and 'Opposite of the Five Elements.' You draw Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water in the form of a pentagon. And you can make a star shape by drawing a line from Wood→Soil→Water→Fire→Metal→Wood. Wood→Fire, Fire→Soil, Soil→Metal, Metal→Water, Water→Wood represents the ‘Coexistence of the Five Elements.’ And Wood→Soil, Soil→Water, Water→Fire, Fire→Metal, Metal→Wood represents the ‘Opposite of the Five Elements.’ In the picture below, the thick arrows represent ‘Opposite,’ and the thin arrows represent ‘Coexistence.’
Even if two letters with the same meaning are combined, it is applied to the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生) of the Five Elements.’ (For example, a letter meaning Wood + a letter meaning Wood, a letter meaning Fire + a letter meaning Fire, a letter meaning Soil + a letter meaning Soil, a letter meaning Metal + a letter meaning Metal, a letter meaning Water + a letter meaning Water) Additionally, if an English name is added to Hanja or Hangul name, the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’ applies even if three letters with the same meaning are combined. (For example, a letter meaning Wood + a letter meaning Wood + a letter meaning Wood, a letter meaning Fire + a letter meaning Fire + a letter meaning Fire, a letter meaning Soil + a letter meaning Soil + a letter meaning Soil, a letter meaning Metal + a letter meaning Metal + a letter meaning Metal, a letter meaning Water + a letter meaning Water + a letter meaning Water)
Theory of ‘Coexistence of the Five Elements’: If the middle name is used as an English name, the 24th generation English name of the Wonju Byun clan must be made to mean Wood. The 25th generation English name should be made to mean Fire. The 26th generation English name should be made to mean Soil. The 27th generation English name should be made to mean Metal. The 28th generation English name should be made to mean Water. The 29th generation English name should be made to mean Wood. The 30th generation English name should be made to mean Fire. The 31st generation English name should be made to mean Soil. Here, the 24th, 26th, 28th, and 30th generations fit the theory of Coexistence because the generation character is the second letter among the two letters of the first name. However, in the case of the 25th, 27th, 29th, and 31st generations, the generation character is the first of the two letters of the first name. It is revealed that the meaning of the English name, which is the middle name, can change depending on the elements of the second letter of the first name as Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water. However, since the element of the second letter is not known here, it is assumed that only the Coexistence relationship between ‘first name (Generation Character)’ and ‘middle name (English name)’ is considered.
Theory of ‘Opposite of the Five Elements’: If the middle name is used as an English name, the 24th generation Wonju Byun clan does not use the English word for Fire. The 25th generation English name does not use letters for Soil. The 26th generation English name does not use letters for Metal. The 27th generation English name does not use letters for Water. The 28th generation English name does not use the word for Wood. The 29th generation English name does not use the word for Fire. The 30th generation English name does not use the word for Soil. The 31st generation English name does not use word for Matel. Here, the 24th, 26th, 28th, and 30th generations fit the theory of Opposite because the generation character is the second letter among the two letters of the first name. However, in the case of the 25th, 27th, 29th, and 31st generations, the generation character is the first of the two letters of the first name. It is revealed that the meaning of the English name, which is the middle name, can change depending on the elements of the second letter of the first name: Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water. However, since the element of the second letter is not known here, it is assumed that only the Opposite relationship between ‘first name, Generation Character’ and ‘middle name, English name’ is considered.
Theory of ‘Coexistence of the Five Elements’: If the first name is an English name, the English word of the 24th generation of the Wonju Byun clan must be made to mean Metal. The 25th generation English word should be made to mean Water. The word of the 26th generation English name should be made to mean Wood. The 27th generation English name should be made to mean Fire. The 28th generation English name should be made to mean Soil. The 29th generation English name should be made to mean Metal. The 30th generation English name should be made to mean Water. The 31st generation English name should be made to mean Wood. Here, the 25th, 27th, 29th, and 31st generations fit the theory of Coexistence because the generation character is the first letter of the two letters of the middle name. However, in the case of the 24th, 26th, 28th, and 30th generations, the generation character is the second letter among the two letters of the first name. It is revealed that the meaning of the English name, which is the first name, can change depending on the elements of the first letter of the middle name as Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water. However, since the element of the first letter is not known here, it is assumed that only the Coexistence relationship between ‘first name, English name’ and ‘middle name, Generation Character’ is considered.
Theory of ‘Opposite of the Five Elements’: If the first name is an English name, the 24th generation Wonju Byun clan does not use for Wood. The 25th generation English name does not use for Fire. The 26th generation English name does not use for Soil. The 27th generation English name does not use for Metal. The 28th generation English name does not use for Water. 29th generation English name does not use for Wood. The 30th generation English name does not use for Fire. The 31st generation English name does not use for Soil. Here, the 25th, 27th, 29th, and 31st generations conform to the theory of Opposites because the generation character is the first letter of the two letters of the middle name. However, in the case of the 24th, 26th, 28th, and 30th generations, the generation character is the second letter among the two letters of the first name. It is revealed that the meaning of the English name, which is the first name, can change depending on the elements of the first letter of the middle name as Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water. However, since the element of the first letter is not known here, it is assumed that only the Opposite relationship between ‘first name, English name’ and ‘middle name, generation character’ is considered.
If the name is made only with English words, without Hanja or Hangul names, the Wonju Byun Generation Character is as follows. The 24th generation corresponds to Water. The 25th generation corresponds to Wood. The 26th generation corresponds to Fire. The 27th generation corresponds to Soil. The 28th generation corresponds to Metal. The 29th generation corresponds to Water. The 30th generation corresponds to Wood. The 31st generation corresponds to Fire. You can use the English word corresponding to each generation as the name. Look at Table 1 and Table 2 to determine the elements (Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, and Water).
For example, among the Wonju Byun clan, the 14th generation of duke Cheomji fraction, Hyungsik (馨植) means 'fragrant like a flower' and 'establish or plant', and the generation character is Sik (植), and among the Five elements, Wood. Hyung (馨) means Wood among the Five Elements, and Sik (植) also means Wood, so it fits the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’. Duke Cheomji fraction, 15th generation, Heepung (熙豊), means 'shining' and 'ample and wealthy', and the generation character is Hee (熙), which corresponds to Fire or Soil among the Five elements. Hee (熙) means Fire or Soil among the Five elements, and Pung (豊) means soil, so it corresponds to the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’. Duke Cheomji fraction, 16th generation Eungzou (應周) means ‘to respond or obey’ and ‘evenly or fairly’ and the generation character is Zou or Joo, which corresponds to Soil among the Five elements. Eung (應) means Soil among the Five Elements, and Zou or Joo (周) means Soil, so it corresponds to the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’. The 17th generation of the duke Cheomji fraction, Jongho (鍾昊) means ‘vessel’ and ‘sky’, and the generation character is Jong (鍾), which corresponds to Metal among the Five Elements. Jong (鍾) means Metal among the Five Elements, and Ho (昊) means Water, so it corresponds to the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’. Duke Cheomji fraction, 18th generation Keunho (根浩) means ‘root or jewel’ and ‘wide’ and the generation character is Ho (浩), which corresponds to Water among the Five Elements. Of the Five Elements, Keun (根) means Metal rather than Wood, and Ho (浩) means Water, so it corresponds to the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’. Keunho (根浩)’s middle name in English is Daniel. Because Daniel corresponds Soil, it has nothing to do with the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生) of the Five Elements’ and corresponds to the theory of ‘Opposite (相剋) of the Five Elements.’ Duke Cheomji fraction, 18th generation Minho (珉浩) means ‘jewel’ and ‘wide’ and the generation character is Ho (浩), which corresponds to Water among the Five Elements. Min (珉) means Metal among the Five Elements, and Ho (浩) means Water, so it corresponds to the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生)’. Minho (珉浩)’s middle name in English is Joe. Joe corresponds Soil, it has nothing to do with the theory of ‘Coexistence (相生) of the Five Elements’ and corresponds to the theory of ‘Opposite (相剋) of the Five Elements.’
Table 1 summarizes the Korean and English meanings of the Five Elements. Table 2 is an example of common English names and meanings, and there may be missing English name words. Please refer to the elements of English words (Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal, Water) that have been classified based on personal judgment. You can use the two tables to choose a name to suit your personal preference.