Cohen () is a surname of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Samaritan and

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

origins (see:

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

). It is a very common Jewish surname (the most common in Israel). 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. The name "Cohen" is also used as a given name.

Origin

Bearing the surname often (although not always) indicates that one's patrilineal ancestors were

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

in the Temple of Jerusalem. Although not all Kohenic lines stem from

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

, the brother of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

, 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. As multiple languages were acquired through the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...

, 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 Zadok (), also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok or Tsadoq (; lit. 'righteous, justified'), was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant of Eleazar the son of Aaron. He was the High Priest of Israel during the reigns of Dav ...

, and Cohen-Maghari (Meguri) of Yemen, who trace their lineage to Jehoiarib, one of the

priestly divisions The priestly divisions or sacerdotal courses ( ''mishmar'') are the groups into which kohanim "priests" were divided for service in the Temple in Jerusalem in ancient Judea. The 24 priestly divisions are first listed in 1 Chronicles 24. Role i ...

. 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). Nor should an observant Kohen come into contact with the dead or enter a cemetery unless for the death of a close relative. An effort to test whether people named "Cohen" have a common genetic origin has been undertaken, using a

genealogical DNA test A genealogical DNA test is a DNA-based Genetic testing, genetic test used in genetic genealogy that looks at specific locations of a person's genome in order to find or verify ancestral genealogical relationships, or (with lower reliability) to ...

associated with the Cohen Modal Haplotype (see Y-chromosomal Aaron).

Variants and derivations

Cahn Cahn is a Germanized form of the Jewish surname Cohen, another variant of which is Kahn. People with the surname Cahn * Andrew Cahn (born 1951), British civil servant * Anne Hessing Cahn (c. 1930–2024), German-born American political auth ...

* Coen *

Cohan Cohan is a surname of Irish origins. It is a variant of Cohane, which itself is an Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Cadhain. Cohan is also a variant spelling of the Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Nor ...

Cohn Cohn is a Jewish surname (related to the last name Cohen). Notable people and characters with the surname include: * Al Cohn (1925–1988), American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer * Alan D. Cohn, American government official * Alfred A. ...

Kahane Some people named Kahane include: * Anetta Kahane, German journalist * Binyamin Kahane, Israeli Air Force pilot * Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, founder of the Israeli Kahane Chai party * Brianna Kahane (born 2002), American child prodigy violinist * ...

(Aramaic for ''kohen'') * Kahanow/

Kahanov Rabbi Moshe Nehemiah Kahanov (; 1817 – 1883) was a rabbi and Jerusalem Talmudist from the Russian Empire inside of what is now Belarus. Toward the end of his life he migrated to Jerusalem where he became Rosh Yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva. B ...

Kokhanov Kokhanov (), female Kokhanova, is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexey Kokhanov (born 1981), singer, sound artist, and composer based in Moscow and Berlin See also * * {{surname Russian-language surnames ...

Kahn Kahn is a surname of German origin. ''Kahn'' means "small boat", in German. It is also a Germanized form of the Jewish surname Cohen, another variant of which is '' Cahn''.

*For some bearers, the surname Katz may stem from "Kohen Tzedek", meaning "righteous or authentic priest." * Kohn * Kon (surname) Polish variant * Kagan (surname) (transliterated from Russian) ** Kaganovich (disambiguation) ** Kogan ** Kogen (disambiguation) ** Kogon (surname) *

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: al-Kohen, al-Kahen, al-Kahin, Tawil, Tabili, Taguili * Ancient/Modern Hebrew: Kohen, HaKohen, ben-Kohen, bar-Kohen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen Hebrew-language surnames Kohenitic surnames Occupational surnames Modern names of Hebrew origin