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

The Suleiman ben Pinhas Cohen family of Sana'a, circa 1944

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.

An effort to test whether people named 'Cohen' actually have a common genetic origin has been undertaken, using a genealogical DNA test associated with the Cohen Modal Haplotype (see Y-chromosomal Aaron).

Katz

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.

See also

Variants of Cohen

Variant surnames

By origin

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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).

The Suleiman ben Pinhas al-Cohen family of Sana'a, c. 1944

References

  1. ^ Schreiber, Mordecai (2011). The Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia. Taylor Trade Publications.
  2. ^ אלון, אמיר (4 February 2019). "למ"ס: אלה שמות המשפחה הנפוצים בישראל". ynet (in Hebrew).
  3. ^ Krupnick, Mark (1993). "Assimilation in Recent American Jewish Autobiographies". Contemporary American Jewish Literature. University of Wisconsin Press. 34 (3): 451–474. doi:10.2307/1208683. JSTOR 1208683.
  4. ^ "What's the Deal With People Using Cohen as a First Name?". November 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Donin, Rabbi Haim Halevy (1972). To Be A Jew. A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life. Basic Books. p. 198. ISBN 9780465086245.
  6. ^ Shlomo bar Yosef ha-Cohen Atzvan, Ma'alot Shlomo, Jerusalem 1985, p. 56 in PDF (Hebrew)
  7. ^ Donin p.291
  8. ^ Donin p.304
  9. ^ Charles W. Bell (October 4, 1997). "Counting the Cohens, and some of them could be named Katz". The NY Daily News.
  10. ^ a b Nissim, Daniele (2001). "FAMIGLIE RAPA E RAPAPORT NELL'ITALIA SETTENTRIONALE (SEC. XV-XVI). CON UN'APPENDICE SULL'ORIGINE DELLA MISCELLANEA ROTHSCHILD". La Rassegna Mensile di Israel. 67 (1): 177–192. JSTOR 41263551. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  11. ^ a b Rosignoli, Rocco (2022). L'arte di Leonard Cohen: tra storia, musica ed ebraismo. Mimesis. ISBN 9788857596235.
  12. ^ "Rav Elazar Kahanow, ZT"L, on this tenth Yarhrtzeit". March 25, 2012.
  13. ^ Hanks, Patrick, ed. (2006-01-01), "Kaner", Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195081374
  14. ^ a b c d "Korenfeld, Origin of Surname". Museum of The Jewish People - Beit Hatfutsot': 'בית התפוצות - מוזיאון העם היהודי'. Retrieved 2021-06-22.

External links

More
This page lists people with the surname Cohen.
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.
Categories