# Ju (Korean name)

Ju, also spelled Joo or Chu, is a Korean family name and an element in Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.

## Family name

As a family name, Ju may be written with either of two hanja, one meaning "red" (朱; 붉을 주), and the other meaning "around" (周; 두루 주). The former has one bon-gwan (Wu Yuan, China), while the latter has four (Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do; Chogye-myeon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do; Cheorwon-gun, Gangwonnam-do; and Anui-myeon, Hamyang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do). The 2000 South Korean census found 215,010 people with this family name.
In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 50.6% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Ju in their passports, and another 46.9% spelled it as Joo. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 2.4%) included Chu and Choo.
People with these family names include:

### Chu

* Chu Sang-song (born 1933), North Korean politician
* Chu Yo-han (1900–1976), South Korean poet
* Chu Yung-kwang (1920–1982), South Korean football player

### Joo

* Brian Joo (born 1981), Korean American singer
* Dong Moon Joo, Korean American businessman
* Joo Hee-jung (born 1977), South Korean basketball player
* Joo Hee-sun, South Korean music video director
* Joo Hyeon-woo (born 1990), South Korean football player
* Joo Hyong-jun (born 1991), South Korean speed skater
* Joo Hyun (born 1943), South Korean actor
* Joo Hyun-jung (born 1982), South Korean archer
* Joo Hyun-mi (born 1961), South Korean trot singer
* Hyung-ki Joo (born 1973), Korean-British pianist
* Joo In-young (born 1978), South Korean actress
* Joo Jin-mo (actor, born 1958), South Korean actor
* Joo Jin-mo (actor, born 1974), South Korean actor
* Joo Jong-hyuk (actor, born 1983), South Korean actor and singer
* Joo Jong-hyuk (actor, born 1991), South Korean actor
* Judy Joo (born 1974), Korean-American celebrity chef
* Joo Ki-hwan (born 1981), South Korean football player
* Joo Min-jin (born 1983), South Korean short track speed skater
* Joo Min-kyung (born 1989), South Korean actress
* Joo Sang-wook (born 1978), South Korean actor
* Joo Se-hyuk (born 1980), South Korean table tennis player
* Joo Seong-ha (born 1975), North Korean journalist and defector
* Joo Yang-ja (1931–2025), South Korean politician and medical doctor
* Joo Ye-rim (born 2011), South Korean child actress

### Ju

* Ju Ho-jin (born 1981), South Korean football player
* Ju Ji-hoon (born 1982), South Korean actor
* Ju Kwang-min (born 1990), North Korean football player
* Ju Kwang-youn (born 1985), South Korean football player
* Ju Kyu-chang (born 1939), North Korean politician
* Ju Seung-jin (born 1975), South Korean football player
* Ju Si-gyeong (1876–1914), Joseon Dynasty linguist

## Given name

There are 56 hanja with the reading "ju" on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be used in given names; they are listed in the table at right. One name containing this syllable, Eun-ju, was the sixth-most popular name for newborn South Korean girls in 1970.
Names beginning with this syllable include:
* Joo-hwan (masculine)
* Joo-hyun (unisex)
* Joo-won (unisex)
Names ending with this syllable include:
* Dong-joo (masculine)
* Eun-ju (feminine)
* Hae-joo (unisex)
* Hong-joo (unisex)
* Hyo-joo (feminine)
* Hyun-joo (unisex)
* Hyung-joo (unisex)
* Jin-joo (feminine)
* Min-ju (feminine)
* Kyung-ju (unisex)
* Seok-ju (masculine)
* Young-joo (unisex)
People with the single syllable given name Ju include:
* Joo (singer), stage name of Jung Min-joo (born 1990), South Korean solo singer, and older sister of Jung Il-hoon (former member of South Korean boy band BtoB)