From Sino-Korean 英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero" and 子 (ja) meaning "child". Other hanja character combinations can form this name as well. Feminine names ending with the character 子 (a fashionable name suffix in Japan, read as -ko in Japanese) were popular in Korea during the period of Japanese rule (1910-1945). After liberation this name and others like it declined in popularity.