Kwon usually represents the Korean surname 권, commonly written with the hanja 權 and glossed “authority”. That character meaning is not a description of a bearer's occupation or status. The surname has distinct lineage traditions, particularly those associated with Andong and Yecheon; its Roman spelling alone cannot establish a family connection. The surname dictionary gives the basic meaning and distinguishes these traditions.
Meaning, Script, and Romanization
In this Korean name, 권 is the Hangul spelling and 權 is the corresponding traditional Chinese character, or hanja. The Academy of Korean Studies also gives “balance weight” among the character's glosses. These are aspects of the character's vocabulary, not separate proven occupational origins for the surname. See the character and historical name in the Academy's Kwon Haeng entry.
Gwon follows from the National Institute of Korean Language's transcription tables: ㄱ before a vowel becomes g, ㅝ becomes wo, and ㄴ becomes n. The same rules allow established spellings of personal names to continue. Kwon therefore need not be “corrected” to Gwon in a person's records. The surname dictionary uses Kwŏn, another form worth checking in older reference works. Official romanization rules, sections 2 and 3; dictionary entry.
These forms can represent the same Korean surname. They do not distinguish an Andong family from a Yecheon family, and a change between them need not indicate a legal name change.
Andong and Yecheon: Two Histories Behind Kwon
A Korean bon-gwan (본관, 本貫) identifies a surname group's ancestral seat. It refers to a lineage's association with a place, rather than necessarily to a living person's birthplace or home. The Academy of Korean Studies places the establishment of the surname-and-seat system in the transition from late Silla to early Goryeo. Read Lee Su-geon's account of bon-gwan.
Andong Kwon and the Gochang Battle
The Academy identifies Kwon Haeng (권행, 權幸) as the Andong founding ancestor, reportedly originally surnamed Kim. Its account connects him with assistance to Wang Geon's forces at Gochang, present-day Andong, in 930, and with the grant of the Kwon surname. It also notes that the Goryeosa writes his personal name with a different character, 行. This is a historical foundation account with a textual history, not a birth certificate for the first person ever called Kwon. Mun Su-jin, “Kwon Haeng”.
The reported earlier Kim name concerns this founding account; it does not make all Kim and Kwon families branches of one documented line. A family claiming this ancestry still needs evidence linking its generations to the recorded lineage.
Yecheon Kwon and a Changed Surname
The Yecheon history involves an earlier surname, 흔 (昕), Heun, rather than simply a different spelling of Kwon. The Academy's examination-record database, in its entry for Kwon Gun-bo, explains that his father Kwon Seom (權暹) was originally Heun Seom (昕暹). Citing the Ssijok wollyu, Yecheon Kwon section, p. 470, it says he adopted his mother's surname to avoid using King Chungmok's personal name. See the database's annotation to Kwon Gun-bo's father.
The surname dictionary gives a different chronology involving Myeongjong. This page follows the Academy's specific genealogical annotation rather than treating the conflicting details as settled. For a family investigation, Heun would be an earlier surname to document, not a spelling to substitute automatically for Kwon.
What the 1476 Andong Genealogy Can Show
The Andong Kwon Seonghwabo, printed in 1476, is a substantial surviving family genealogy, or jokbo (족보). It offers evidence of an established genealogical community by the fifteenth century; its publication date is not the date the surname began.
Kwon Gi-seok's scholarly account explains that this genealogy includes descendants through daughters as well as sons, and therefore many people with other surnames. It also covers only three of the fifteen branches recognized in later Andong Kwon genealogies. A person's absence from this edition cannot by itself exclude Andong affiliation. Conversely, inclusion need not mean descent through an uninterrupted male Kwon line. Read the Academy's account of the Seonghwabo's contents and coverage.
The compilers themselves acknowledged uneven evidence. In the preface, Seo Geo-jeong explains that earlier generations were treated briefly because unknown information had been left out. That makes the book especially instructive: an old pedigree can preserve valuable relationships while still containing gaps. Read the preface in the National Institute of Korean History's source collection.
Researching Your Kwon Family
Begin with a documented relative and work backward toward a lineage record. Our East Asian origin guide introduces the Korean surname-and-seat distinction; the following steps apply it to Kwon research.
- Preserve the original name. Record Hangul, hanja, and the exact Roman spelling from each document. Search Kwon, Gwon, and Kwŏn where relevant, while checking given names, dates, and relatives rather than merging name matches automatically.
- Separate ancestral seat from residence. Ask whether a family reference to Andong or Yecheon means bon-gwan or an actual place where a recent ancestor lived. Record both facts separately, along with any named lineage branch.
- Identify the genealogy edition. If a relative has a jokbo, photograph its title, publication information, relevant pages, and surrounding relationships. An entry's position and edition matter as much as its name. Trace the links to a known parent or grandparent before accepting a long ancestral sequence.
- Compare independent records. Use available family or household registers, marriage records, gravestones, and migration documents to test the genealogy's relationships. Note whether a date comes from an original record, a later compilation, or a family recollection.
- Track indexing changes. Korean name order places the surname first, while an overseas record may put it last. Spaces or hyphens within a given name can also affect searches. The official naming provisions explain the surname-first convention.
Outside a known Korean context, even the spelling Kwon is ambiguous: the surname dictionary also records Chinese romanizations of 關, 管, and 官. Those are different characters from 權, not ordinary spelling variants within a Korean pedigree. Establish the original script and record context before choosing an etymology. Compare the dictionary's Chinese explanation.
Use the surname evidence checklist to distinguish what each document establishes from a proposed connection. A shared surname or bon-gwan can guide a search; neither alone proves a reader's ethnicity, ancestral residence, or descent from a named medieval founder.
References
- Patrick Hanks, editor. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003; FamilySearch reproduction credits 2003 and 2006. “Kwon” entry. Its founding details differ from the Korean sources discussed above.
- National Institute of Korean Language. “Romanization of Korean”, sections 2 and 3, especially provisions 3(4) and 3(7); undated web edition, accessed 7 September 2026.
- Lee Su-geon (이수건). “Bon-gwan (本貫)”. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studies, 1995; revised 7 February 2023.
- Mun Su-jin (문수진). “Kwon Haeng (權幸)”. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studies, 1995; revised 7 February 2023.
- Academy of Korean Studies. “Kwon Gun-bo (權君保)”, Korea's Examination Graduates, record of the 1355 examination, annotation to father Kwon Seom citing Ssijok wollyu, Yecheon Kwon section, p. 470. Undated database entry, accessed 7 September 2026.
- Kwon Gi-seok (권기석). “Andong Kwon Seonghwabo (安東權氏 成化譜)”. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studies, 2022; revised 22 April 2024, especially “Structure and Contents”.
- Seo Geo-jeong (서거정). “Preface to the Andong Kwon Seonghwabo”, genealogy published 1476. Original text, Korean translation, and commentary provided by the National Institute of Korean History, Korean History through Historical Sources; accessed 7 September 2026.