Jaewoo
A Korean masculine name meaning "talented" or "outstanding virtue".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Jaewoo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jaewoo today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaewoo births was 2003 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaewoo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jaewoo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2003
5 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#11,602
Tracked since 2003
Census
Jaewoo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 285 people with the first name Jaewoo, which placed it at #30,528 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,528
National first-name rank
People counted
285
285 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaewoo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaewoo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jaewoo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jaewoo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.2% · 277
- White2.8% · 8
Popularity
Jaewoo: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaewoo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jaewoo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaewoo
The name Jaewoo is of Korean origin and is a combination of two words, "jae" meaning "talented" or "gifted," and "woo" meaning "great" or "outstanding." It is a name that has been used in Korea for centuries, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392 CE).
During the Goryeo period, the name Jaewoo was often given to children from aristocratic families, as it conveyed a sense of excellence and promise. It was believed that bestowing such a name would inspire the child to live up to its meaning and strive for greatness in their pursuits.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Jaewoo was a renowned scholar and writer named Jaewoo Yi (1080-1144 CE). He was a prominent figure during the late Goryeo Dynasty and was known for his contributions to the study of Confucian philosophy and literature.
In the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897 CE), the name Jaewoo continued to be popular among the noble and scholarly classes. One notable individual with this name was Jaewoo Kim (1524-1593 CE), a highly respected Confucian scholar and statesman who served as a royal tutor during the reign of King Seonjo.
Another historical figure named Jaewoo was Jaewoo Choi (1684-1756 CE), a renowned calligrapher and painter who is celebrated for his contributions to the development of Korean calligraphic styles and techniques.
Moving into the 20th century, Jaewoo Lee (1902-1971) was a prominent Korean writer and activist who played a significant role in the Korean independence movement against Japanese colonial rule. His literary works, which often explored themes of national identity and resistance, had a profound impact on Korean literature and culture.
More recently, Jaewoo Park (born 1969) is a South Korean actor and singer who has gained widespread popularity for his roles in numerous television dramas and films, as well as his musical endeavors.
Throughout its history, the name Jaewoo has carried connotations of excellence, talent, and outstanding achievement. It has been bestowed upon individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, writers, and performers, reflecting the high aspirations and hopes that parents have for their children bearing this name.
People
Jaewoo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaewoo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jaewoo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaewoo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaewoo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Jaewoo a common name?
We classify Jaewoo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaewoo most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaewoo was 2003, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaewoo is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaewoo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 285 people with the name Jaewoo, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,528 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jaewoo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jaewoo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaewoo leans strongly male. 286 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 8 female bearers (2.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jaewoo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaewoo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jaewoo most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Jaewoo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.2% (277 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jaewoo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaewoo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaewoo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jaewoo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaewoo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jaewoo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Jaewoo?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Jaewoo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.