When you see all of the KPOP group names that inundate the KPOP music scene, sometimes you just have to wonder: what’s in a KPOP group name? Haven’t you wondered sometimes where these groups get their name? So let’s take a little KPOP history lesson and see what or how these names came to fruition.

H.O.T., which was aimed towards teenagers, stands for “High-five Of Teenagers”. Not exactly sure what they were going for here.

S.E.S. is a group where you take the first initial of each member’s first names (Sea, Eugene, Shoo). Pretty simple, right?

Baby V.O.X. is where V.O.X. stands for “Voices of Xpression”, which does make sense considering that these ladies sing.

Shinhwa is one of KPOP’s legendary groups and it is only fitting since ‘Shinhwa’ means ‘myth’ or ‘legend’ in Korean.

Fin.K.L. stands for “Fin Killing Liberty” and basically expressed the group going against “the oppression of all freedoms”. And ‘Fin’ means ‘end’ or ‘finish’ in French.

g.o.d., stylized in lower-case letters, stands for “Groove Over Dose”. I’m assuming “over dose” was supposed to be one word.

DBSK is short for ‘Dong Bang Shin Ki’ and means “The Rising Gods of the East”. And why not as they are known as Asia’s Star because they excel in singing, dancing, and various personalities.

TRAX, which you probably know as “Typhoon of the Rose Attack on X-Mas”, can also refer to “tracks”. But that first meaning is so random. SM Entertainment, wae you come up with weird names?

SS501, which is pronounced as Double S Five-Oh-One, means “Superstar Singer five members united as one forever”.

Super Junior’s members were the best in their fields (super) when they were young trainees in SM (junior). So now that they’re no longer trainees, should they be known as Super Senior? That would make them sound old, though.

Big Bang is derived from the “Big Bang Theory” and is meant to illustrate an explosive entrance into the music industry.

KARA comes from the Greek word “chara”, which translates to joy. The members took this to mean ’sweet melody’.

F.T. Island is abbreviated for “Five Treasure Island” since each member is considered a treasure for their own talents.

SNSD stands for So Nyuh Shi Dae. Their English name is “Girls’ Generation” and refers to the fact that it’s time for girls to dominate.

SHINee is a combination of “shine” and “ee”. The “ee” means “receive”, so basically the name is “to receive the spotlight”.

2AM gets their name from when people go through many emotions as they reflect the happenings and events of the day. Together with 2PM, they are ‘One Day’.

2PM comes from the fact that you are most pumped and active at this time of day. Together with 2AM, they are ‘One Day’.

U-KISS stands for Ubiquitous Korean International (Idol) Super Star. Not sure about you but that’s a mouthful.

After School refers to when students have the freedom to do whatever they want after school has concluded for the day, so they enjoy and have fun to the max.

2NE1 can be pronounced “To Anyone” or “Twenty-One”, but actually stands for “New Evolution of the 21st Century”. Definitely evolving the 21st Century!

Whew, that’s a lot of groups right there and a lot to digest! But don’t you fret, there will be a Part 2 soon!

Which names made the most sense to you?