Meaning of the surname Choi (최)

최 is written 崔, meaning “lofty, towering”, and its character belongs to the element ⛰️ 土 Earth. Pronounced closer to 'chweh' than 'choy'. The Gyeongju Choi were one of the six founding villages of Silla.

Major clans (본관)

Korean surnames are subdivided by bon-gwan, the ancestral seat of the clan. Two Kims from different clans are, genealogically, unrelated.

• Gyeongju Choi (경주 최씨)
• Haeju Choi (해주 최씨)

Given names that pair well with Choi

In naming practice the surname's element is fixed, so a given name is often chosen to carry the element the surname produces (土 Earth → ✨ 金 Metal) — a “generating” (상생) relationship — while avoiding a repeated first sound.