Young-ja

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Young-ja, also spelled Yeong-ja (Korean: 영자), is a Korean girl’s name. It was the most popular name for baby girls born in Korea in 1940. The syllable ja is usually written with the hanja meaning “child” (子).

In Japan, the character for ja is read ko and was once used as a suffix for aristocratic girls’ names. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, this naming pattern spread to broader society. Names like Soon-ja and Jeong-ja became popular during Korea’s period of Japanese rule (1910–1945) but declined afterward. By 1950, no top-ten names ended in -ja.

There are people and fictional characters named Young-ja.