Cohen (surname)
Cohen (Hebrew: כֹּהֵן, kōhēn, "priest") is a Jewish surname of biblical origins (see: Kohen). It is a very common Jewish surname, comparable to 'Smith' in an English-language context.
Bearing the surname indicates that one's patrilineal ancestors were priests in the Temple of Jerusalem. 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 surname acquired dozens of variants.
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.
An effort to trace whether or not people named 'Cohen' actually have a common genetic origin has been undertaken in the specific DNA signature associated with the name known as the Cohen Modal Haplotype.
Cohen may refer to:
Read more about Cohen (surname): People
Famous quotes containing the word cohen:
“Adults understandably assume that the level of verbal proficiency a five-year-old displays represents his level of proficiency in all areas of functioning—if he talks like an adult, he must think and feel like one. However, five-year-olds,... belie the promise of adult-like behavior with their child-like, impulsive actions.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)