SEVENTEEN Only Has 13 Members — So Where Did Their Name Come From?

The K-pop industry has countless boy groups and girl groups, which means there are many different group names around. Some do not need much explanation, but others can be a bit baffling to those who are not in the know.

For example, SEVENTEEN is currently one of the most popular groups in K-pop, but not everyone understands where their name came from. After all, SEVENTEEN only has 13 members, so why are they called “SEVENTEEN”? Find out below.

How did SEVENTEEN become popular?

SEVENTEEN debuted in mid-2015 with the single “Adore U” and their first EP, 17 Carats. Right away, they became the rookie group to watch. SEVENTEEN released another album and single a few months later and ended up winning big awards at the end of the year.

Since then, SEVENTEEN has consistently found success in South Korea with songs like “Pretty U,” “Don’t Wanna Cry,” and “Home.” Aside from their home country, SEVENTEEN has also been successful in Japan, with a few of their singles and albums being certified platinum in the neighboring country.

SEVENTEEN has managed to set themselves apart from their peers by releasing catchy songs with seamlessly synchronized choreography. Additionally, the group members also take part in the various aspects of their work, such as songwriting, producing, and creating choreography.

According to fan legends, one of SEVENTEEN’s biggest achievements has been helping their company, Pledis Entertainment, come back from an era of financial losses. Before SEVENTEEN debuted, Pledis reportedly was not doing well with the other groups it had. However, SEVENTEEN managed to turn things around. By 2017—during one of SEVENTEEN’s peaks—member Hoshi said “business is booming” at the company, and fans even saw lots of new job postings for positions there.

Who are the 13 members of SEVENTEEN?

With 13 members, SEVENTEEN is indeed one of the biggest K-pop groups around. While SEVENTEEN often performs as a full group, occasionally the members are also often split into three different sub-units based on their specialties.

The Hip-Hop Unit consists of rappers S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon.

The Vocal Unit consists of singers Jeonghan, Joshua, Woozi, DK, and Seungkwan

 Finally, the Performance Unit consists of dancers Jun, Hoshi, The8, and Dino.

What does the name ‘SEVENTEEN’ mean?

Before they officially debut, SEVENTEEN actually was supposed to have 17 members, which is the original meaning of their name. Aside from the current 13 members, there were four other trainees in the lineup: Doyoon, Mingming, Dongjin, and Samuel. Most notably, Mingming has gone on to establish a music career in China while Samuel is a solo artist in South Korea.

After these four trainees left SEVENTEEN, the group ended up creating another meaning to their name. According to Allkpop, SEVENTEEN explained on the show Immortal Song in 2017 that their name represents 13 members, 3 sub-units, and 1 group.

K-pop groups are known to have very creative names, though not many require a whole equation to understand. However, it’s just another example of how SEVENTEEN has set themselves apart from other artists.