Cohen

Meaning of Cohen

Cohen traces its roots to the Hebrew כהן, literally “priest,” historically denoting members of the ancient Jewish priestly caste; as a given name, it has migrated from the synagogue roll call to American suburbia with a speed that would impress even the most nimble Levite. In the United States it lingered on the fringes until the late-1990s, then climbed steadily, cracking the top 300 in 2014 and settling just inside the top 250 today, a trajectory suggesting equal parts cultural curiosity and the perennial appeal of brisk, two-syllable names. The name carries weighty associations—ancestral ritual, liturgical authority, and the smoky baritone of Leonard Cohen—yet modern parents appear comfortable treating it more as stylish sound than sacred title. Some Jewish communities frown on its casual use, but for most families the name’s crisp consonants and dignified meaning outweigh the theological footnotes. Pronounced koh-EN, it fits neatly beside Logan and Owen while still offering a quietly distinctive twist. Dry fact of the day: “Cohen” is technically already plural in Hebrew, so the common urge to add an “s” for siblings—“the Cohens”—is, linguistically speaking, a redundancy, though etiquette books remain silent on the matter.