| ![Show Contents]() Cahn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of CahnWhat does the name Cahn mean? Jewish surnames were reserved for exceptional individuals, people who were scholars and poets. Therefore, families began to use their surnames as a sign of prominence because of their established family name. 1 The distinguished surname Cahn is a proud sign of an ancient Jewish culture. The surname Cahn is an occupational surname for a priest, and it comes from the Hebrew word "kohen." Traditionally, priests were considered to have been members of a hereditary caste, descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. Not all Jewish bearers of the surname Cahn belong to this caste, however. When many Jews were being forced to join the Russian Army for a term of 25 years, a number of them changed their last name to Cahn, because members of the clergy were exempt from service. Cahn Spelling VariationsSpelling variations of this family name include: Cohen, Kahn, Cohan, Cohn, Coen, Kohn, Kohen, Cahan, Cahn, Cahen, Kahen, Cohane, Kahane, Kahan, Cohani, Cahani, Cahany, Kahany, Cahana, Kahana, Cohener, Kohener, Kohaner, Kahner, Kahaner, Cohansky, Cahansky, Kahansky, Kogen, Kogan, Cagan, Kagan, Kuhn and many more.
| Cahn migration to the United States | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Cahn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Bonhomose Cahn, who landed in Mississippi in 1843 3
- Mr. Cahn, aged 28, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1850 3
- A Cahn, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
- Abraham A Cahn, who landed in Arkansas in 1851 3
- L Cahn, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name Cahn (post 1700) | + |
- Edgar Stuart Cahn (1935-2022), American law professor, counsel and speech writer to Robert F. Kennedy, and the creator of TimeBanking, an alternative currency or exchange system
- Miles Cahn (1922-2017), American businessman, co-founder with his wife, Lillian of Coach, Inc., a multinational luxury fashion company based in New York City in 1941
- John Werner Cahn (1928-2016), German-born, American scientist and recipient of the 1998 National Medal of Science
- Anneli Cahn Lax (1922-1999), American mathematician and editor of the Mathematics Association of America's New Mathematical Library Series, wife of Peter Lax
- Weiss, Nelly. The Origin of Jewish family names: Morphology and History. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
- Weiss, Nelly. The origin of Jewish family names: morphology and history. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
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