Cohen (
Hebrew: כֹּהֵן,
romanized: kōhēn,
lit. '
priest'), also spelled
Cohn,
Kohn, or
Kahn, is a surname of
Jewish,
Samaritan[1] and
Biblical origins (see:
Kohen). It is a very common
Jewish surname (the most common in Israel),[2] and the following information discusses only that origin. Cohen is one of the four Samaritan last names that exist in the modern day. Many Jewish immigrants entering the United States or United Kingdom changed their name from Cohen to
Cowan (sometimes spelled "
Cowen"), as Cowan was a Scottish name.[3] The name "Cohen" is also used as a given name.[4]
Origin
Bearing the surname often (although not always) indicates that one's
patrilineal ancestors were
priests in the
Temple of Jerusalem. Although not all Kohenic lines stem from
Aaron, the brother of
Moses, he is generally regarded as the patriarch of the lineage and the first Kohen. A single such priest was known as a Kohen, and the hereditary caste descending from these priests is collectively known as the
Kohanim.[5] As multiple languages were acquired through the
Jewish diaspora, the surname acquired dozens of
variants. Not all persons with related surnames are kohanim, and not all kohanim have related surnames.
Some Kohanim have added a secondary appellation to their surname, so as to distinguish themselves from other Kohanim—such as
Cohen-Scali of Morocco, who trace their lineage to
Zadok,[6] and Cohen-Maghari (Meguri) of Yemen, who trace their lineage to
Jehoiarib, one of the
priestly divisions.
Being a Kohen imposes some limitations: by Jewish law a Kohen may not marry a divorced woman, and may not marry a
proselyte (someone who converted to Judaism).[7] Nor should an observant Kohen come into contact with the dead[8] or enter a cemetery unless for the death of a close relative.
The
Katz surname is a possible indicator of being a Kohen/Cohen: it may stem from "Kohen Tzedek", meaning "righteous or authentic priest."[9]
Other last names with similar indication are Kohentov and Kohenteb; the suffix literally means good, meaning that one could rely on them as being a Kohen when needing one for redeeming a firstborn male child.
There are numerous variations to the spelling of the surname Cohen. These are often corrupted by translation or
transliteration into or from other languages, as exemplified below (not a complete list).
English: Cohen, Kohen, Cowen, Cowan, Cahn, Kahn, Cahan, Carne, Cohn, Cone, Conn, Conway, Cohan, Cohaner, Cahanman, Chapman, Chaplan, Keohan, Kaplan,
Katz (a Hebrew abbreviation for kohen zedek (כהן צדק) "righteous priest"[14]), HaCohen, (Cohan is also an Irish surname and Conway is also a surname of Welsh origin)
Russian:
Kogan, Kogen, Kogon, Kogensohn, Kagan, Kaganovich, Kaganovsky, Kohen, Kokhen (Kochen), Kazhdan/Kazdan/Kasdan (in Hebrew, this name is spelled קשדן and is an acronym for "Kohanei Shluchei DeShmaya Ninhu," which is Aramaic for "priests are the messengers of heaven")
This page lists people with the
surnameCohen. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.