Cohen

{{Short description|Surname of Jewish, Samaritan, and Biblical origins}} {{other uses}} {{For|a list of persons with the surname Cohen|List of people with surname Cohen}}

'''Cohen''' ({{langx|he|כֹּהֵן|kōhēn|priest}}) is a surname of Jewish, Samaritan<ref>{{cite book |first=Mordecai |last=Schreiber |title=The Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |date=2011 |page= }}</ref> and Biblical origins (see: Kohen). It is a common Jewish surname<ref>{{cite web |last1=Posner |first1=Menachem |title=What Does the Jewish Last Name Cohen Mean? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5061756/jewish/What-Does-the-Jewish-Last-Name-Cohen-Mean.htm |website=Chabad |access-date=January 22, 2026}}</ref>, and is the most common surname in Israel.<ref>{{cite news |title=למ"ס: אלה שמות המשפחה הנפוצים בישראל |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5457942,00.html |website=ynet |language=he |date=4 February 2019|last1=אלון |first1=אמיר }}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Donin |first=Rabbi Haim Halevy |title=To Be A Jew. A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life |url=https://archive.org/details/tobejewguidetoj00doni |url-access=registration |publisher=Basic Books |date=1972 |page=[https://archive.org/details/tobejewguidetoj00doni/page/198 198]|isbn=9780465086245 }}</ref> 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,<ref>Shlomo bar Yosef ha-Cohen Atzvan, ''Ma'alot Shlomo'', Jerusalem 1985, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21257&st=&pgnum=56&hilite= p. 56] in PDF (Hebrew)</ref> 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).<ref>Donin p. 291</ref> Nor should an observant Kohen come into contact with the dead<ref>Donin p. 304</ref> 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 associated with the Cohen Modal Haplotype (see Y-chromosomal Aaron).

Cohen is one of the four Samaritan last names that exist in the modern day.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

==Variants and derivations== [[File:Suleiman_ben_Pinhas_Cohen_family,_Sana'a_ca._1944.jpg|thumb|right|The Suleiman ben Pinhas al-Cohen family of Sana'a, ''circa'' 1944]]

Some Jewish immigrants to the United States or the United Kingdom changed their name from Cohen to Cowan (sometimes spelled "Cowen"), as Cowan was a Scottish name.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krupnick |first=Mark |date=1993 |title=Assimilation in Recent American Jewish Autobiographies |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1208683 |journal=Contemporary American Jewish Literature |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |volume=34 |issue=3|pages=451–474 |doi=10.2307/1208683 |jstor=1208683 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>. In Ireland, Coyne is also a similar replacement. The name "Cohen" is also used as a given name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kveller.com/whats-the-deal-with-people-using-cohen-as-a-first-name/|title=What's the Deal With People Using Cohen as a First Name?|date=November 22, 2019}}</ref>

* Cahn * Coen<ref name="Nissim">{{cite journal |last1=Nissim |first1=Daniele |date=2001 |title=FAMIGLIE RAPA E RAPAPORT NELL'ITALIA SETTENTRIONALE (SEC. XV-XVI). CON UN'APPENDICE SULL'ORIGINE DELLA MISCELLANEA ROTHSCHILD |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41263551 |journal=La Rassegna Mensile di Israel |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=177–192 |doi= |jstor=41263551 |access-date=2023-10-31}}</ref> * Cohan * Cohn * Kahane (Aramaic for ''kohen''<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Jastrow%2C_כָּהֵן.1 כָּהֵן, כָּהֵין, כַּהֲנָא]</ref>) * Kahanow/Kahanov/{{ill|Kakhanov|ru|Каханов}}/Kokhanov * Kahn *For some bearers, the surname Katz may stem from "Kohen Tzedek", meaning "righteous or authentic priest."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The NY Daily News |title=Counting the Cohens, and some of them could be named Katz |author=Charles W. Bell |date=October 4, 1997 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/counting-cohens-named-katz-article-1.774370}}</ref> * Kohn * Kon (surname) Polish variant * Kagan (surname) (transliterated from Russian) ** Kaganovich (disambiguation) ** Kogan ** Kogen (disambiguation) ** Kogon (surname)

* Arabic: al-Kohen, al-Kahen, al-Kahin, Tawil, Tabili, Taguili * Ancient/Modern Hebrew: Kohen, HaKohen, ben-Kohen, bar-Kohen, (Sephardic Portuguese variants) Cunha, Coina, Coinha

==References== {{reflist}}

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

Cohen

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