Young-ja
Young-ja, also spelled Yeong-ja, is a Korean given name. According to South Korean government data, it was the most popular name for baby girls born in 1940.
The syllable "ja" is generally written using a hanja meaning "child". In Japan, where this character is read ko, it was originally used as suffix for the names of girls in the aristocracy. The practice of adding -ko to girls' names spread to the lower classes following the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Names containing this character, such as Soon-ja and Jeong-ja, became popular when Korea was under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945, but declined in popularity afterwards. By 1950 there were no names ending in "ja" in the top ten.
People
People with this name include:- Young-ja Lee (composer), South Korean music educator and composer
- Jung Hye-sun, South Korean actress
- Kim Young-ja, South Korean volleyball player
- Young-ja Cho, South Korean sculptor
- Lee Young-ja (handballer), South Korean team handball player and Olympic medalist
- Yang Young-ja, South Korean table tennis player
- Lee Young-ja (comedian), South Korean comedian
- Park Yeong-ja, South Korean rower
- Chang Yeong-ja, South Korean financier, one of the principals in the 1982 Lee–Chang scandal
- Yeong-ja, the titular character of the 1975 South Korean film ''Yeong-ja's Heydays''