Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur au lion d'or, tenant trois épis du même. Cq. cour. C.: le lion, iss.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Korean family lines. Documented in 2 countries.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur au lion d'or, tenant trois épis du même. Cq. cour. C.: le lion, iss.”

The Korean arms were recorded in Franconia, c. 1765.
Franconia was a patchwork of small territories in central Germany, full of minor landowners and prosperous market towns. So many separate households held land there that the region produced a great many coats of arms.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
In the Holy Roman Empire, coats of arms were often granted to individuals by the Emperor or his representatives. These arms were then passed down through the generations to all legitimate descendants of the original holder. Younger branches of a family usually kept the same shield design without needing to change it, as the arms belonged to the entire lineage.
The family name Korean traces its roots in Germany to the mid-eighteenth century, with documented evidence placing family members in the Franconia region by 1765. During this era, Franconia was a collection of smaller territories and principalities under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire, characterized by a complex social structure where surnames often reflected a person’s occupation, physical traits, or geographic origin. The presence of the family in this area suggests they were part of the rural or semi-urban population that navigated the shift from feudal agricultural life to the early stages of regional trade. Because surnames were becoming more standardized during this period for tax and census purposes, the name likely served as a formal identifier within local parish registers and administrative documents. This transition allowed families to establish a permanent record of their lineage within the tight-knit communities of the German interior, providing a foundation for their movement and growth throughout the following centuries.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Parti: au 1 d'or à la demi-aigle de sa., mouv. du parti, ch. sur sa poitrine d'un croiss. d'arg.; au 2 d'arg. à un homme, hab. de gu., rebr. d'arg., au plastron du même, chaussé de souliers à bec de sa., coiffé d'un chapeau du même, tenant de sa main dextre trois épis d'or. C.: l'homme du 2, iss., entre un vol de sa. L.: à dextre d'or et de sa., à sen. d'arg. et de gu.”

The Korean arms were recorded in Posnanie, c. 1866.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
Polish noble families shared a single coat of arms across many different surnames, creating large clans rather than individual designs. These symbols were held collectively by all members of the clan regardless of their specific family name. When a new family joined the nobility, they were adopted into an existing clan and began using that group's established shield.
The history of the Korean family name in Poland is rooted in the region of Posnania, where records confirm the presence of family members as early as 1866. During this period, the Prussian-controlled territory of Greater Poland was a center of agricultural development and social change. Families living in this area often navigated a complex landscape of shifting borders and local administration. The name likely emerged within the rural communities of the province, where it was documented in parish registers and local civil records as the family established their roots in the local economy. By the mid-19th century, these individuals were part of a growing class of citizens who contributed to the regional identity of Posnania. Their presence in the historical record during this time highlights the family's long-standing connection to the social and demographic fabric of Western Poland.
Derived from the Greek word for maiden or young girl.