Show ContentsCohen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The distinguished surname Cohen is a proud sign of an ancient Jewish culture. The surname Cohen 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 Cohen 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 Cohen, because members of the clergy were exempt from service.

Cohen World Ranking

In the United States, the name Cohen is the 363rd most popular surname with an estimated 74,610 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Cohen is ranked the 750th most popular surname with an estimated 7,127 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Cohen is the 680th popular surname. 3 France ranks Cohen as 224th with 16,136 people. 4 Australia ranks Cohen as 659th with 5,940 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Cohen as 932nd with 7,413 people. 6 South America ranks Cohen as 71st with 64 people. 7


Cohen migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cohen Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Samuel Myers Cohen, who settled in New York in 1740
  • Abraham Myers Cohen, who settled in America in 1740
  • Abraham Myers Cohen, who arrived in New York in 1740-1741 8
  • Samuel Myers Cohen, who arrived in New York in 1740-1741 8
  • Israel I Cohen, who landed in Virginia in 1784 8
Cohen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Abraham Berend Cohen, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1804 8
  • Abraham Berend Cohen, who settled in San Francisco, California, in 1804
  • Peter Cohen, aged 23, who landed in New York in 1812 8
  • Heartwig Cohen, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 8
  • Lewis Cohen, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1825 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cohen Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Simon Cohen, who landed in Mississippi in 1902 8
  • Henry Cohen, who landed in Mississippi in 1905 8
  • Jake Cohen, who landed in Mississippi in 1906 8

Cohen migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cohen Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • L Cohen, who arrived in Victoria, British Columbia in 1862

Cohen migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cohen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary Cohen, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • Mr. Mordecai Cohen, (b. 1805), aged 14, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
  • Moses Cohen, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on July 3, 1822, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 11
  • Mr. Daniel Cohen, (b. 1800), aged 30, English watch maker who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 22nd July 1830, arriving in New South Wales, he died in 1847 12
  • Mr. Joseph Edward Cohen, (b. 1802), aged 30, English upholsterer who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "England"on 31st March 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1854 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cohen migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Cohen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Abraham Cohen, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Surat" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Cohen (post 1700) +

  • Leonard Norman Cohen CC, GOQ (1934-2016), Canadian poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter, perhaps best known for his songs "Hallelujah", "Suzanne" and "First We Take Manhattan," inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • Stanley Norman Cohen (1935-2020), American geneticist awarded the 1980 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 and the 1988 National Medal of Science
  • Bernard Cecil Cohen (1926-2024), American political scientist and educator who was acting Chancellor of University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1987
  • Carl Cohen (1931-2023), American philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at the Residential College of the University of Michigan
  • Hyman "Hy" Cohen (1931-2021), American baseball pitcher who played one season in Major League Baseball
  • Bernard S. Cohen (1934-2020), American civil liberties attorney and Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1983-1996)
  • Stephen Frand Cohen (1938-2020), American scholar of Russian studies
  • Carolyn Cohen (1929-2017), American Professor Emeritus of Biology at Brandeis University
  • Elaine Lustig Cohen (1927-2016), American graphic designer, artist and archivist
  • Lawrence D. "Larry" Cohen (1933-2016), American attorney, politician, and jurist, Mayor of St. Paul (1972-1976)
  • ... (Another 25 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)
  • Theodora Eugenia Cohen (1968-1988), American Student from Port Jervis, New York, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 14
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Gershon "Gus" Cohen, aged 18, English Third Class passenger from London who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived in the sinking in life boat 12 15
Triangle Waist Company
  • Miss Anna Cohen (b. 1886), Russian Jewish garment worker who was working at Triangle Waist Company factory at the Asch building in Greenwich Village on the 25th March 1911 when fire broke out; she died in the fire 16
  • Miss Bessie Cohen (b. 1892), "Gabrilowich", Russian Jewish worker who was at Triangle Waist Company factory at the Asch building in Greenwich Village on the 25th March 1911 when fire broke out; she survived the fire 16
  • Miss Ida Cohen, "Willinsky", Russian Jewish worker who was at Triangle Waist Company factory at the Asch building in Greenwich Village on the 25th March 1911 when fire broke out; she survived the fire 16
  • Miss Rose Cohen, American who was working at Triangle Waist Company factory at the Asch building in Greenwich Village on the 25th March 1911 when fire broke out; she survived the fire 16
  • Mr. Solly Cohen, American who was working at Triangle Waist Company factory at the Asch building in Greenwich Village on the 25th March 1911 when fire broke out; he survived the fire when he lead Anna Dougherty to the roof 16


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  3. "The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  6. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  7. "List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
  8. 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)
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
  11. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 155 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1822
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
  14. Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html
  15. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
  16. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (retrieved on 3rd August 2021.) Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire


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