Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.
[1] The 2000 South Korean census estimated that 26,746 people had this family name.
[2] In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 62.1% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Myung in their passports.
Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 2.8%) included Myeoung.
[3] People with this family name include: There are 19 hanja with the reading "myeong" on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.