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{{For|a list of persons with the surname Cohen|List of people with surname Cohen}}
'''Cohen''' ({{langx|he|כֹּהֵן|kōhēn|[[kohen|priest]]}}) is a surname of [[Jews|Jewish]], [[Samaritans|Samaritan]]<ref>{{cite book |first=Mordecai |last=Schreiber |title=The Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |date=2011 |page=<!--entry on "Kohen", ordered alphabetically; no page number visible in Google Books view, please check hard copy--> }}</ref> and [[Biblical]] origins (see: [[Kohen]]). It is a very common [[Jewish surname]] (the most common 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> Cohen is one of the four Samaritan last names that exist in the modern day.{{cn|date=November 2024}} Many Jewish immigrants entering the United States or United Kingdom changed their name from Cohen to [[Cowan (surname)|Cowan]] (sometimes spelled "[[Cowen (surname)|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 }}</ref> 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>
==Origin==
Bearing the surname often (although not always) indicates that one's [[Patrilineality|patrilineal]] ancestors were [[Jewish priest|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 [[Kohen|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 [[Kohen#Cohen (and its variations) as a surname|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 [[Debdou#Jewish centre|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' actually have a common genetic origin has been undertaken, using a [[genealogical DNA test]] associated with the [[Cohen Modal Haplotype]] (see [[Y-chromosomal Aaron]]).
==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]]
* [[Cahn]]
* [[Coen (name)|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 (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)|Kon]] (surname) Polish variant
* [[Kagan (surname)]] (transliterated from Russian)
** [[Kaganovich (disambiguation)]]
** [[Kogan]]
** [[Kogen (disambiguation)]]
** [[Kogon (surname)]]
* [[Romanization of Arabic|Arabic]]: al-Kohen, al-Kahen, al-Kahin, Tawil, Tabili, Taguili
* [[Romanization of Hebrew|Ancient/Modern Hebrew]]: Kohen, HaKohen, ben-Kohen, bar-Kohen
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{surname|Cohen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen}}
[[Category:Hebrew-language surnames]]
[[Category:Kohenitic surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Jewish origin]]
[[Category:Occupational surnames]]
[[Category:Modern names of Hebrew origin]]