Find out how popular the last name Cohens is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cohens.

Cohens, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cohens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cohens in America

Cohens is the 38691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cohens surname appeared 571 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cohens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cohens to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cohens

The surname COHENS is of Jewish origin, derived from the Hebrew word "kohen," meaning "priest." It is believed to have originated in ancient Israel, where the Kohanim were descendants of the priestly class tasked with performing religious duties in the Temple.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the Bible and other ancient Jewish texts. In the Book of Exodus, the Kohanim are mentioned as the descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was appointed as the first high priest.

During the Middle Ages, Jews bearing the name COHENS were found in various parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Germany. One notable example is Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, also known as Rashi (1040-1105), a renowned French rabbi and biblical commentator whose surname was COHENS.

In the 15th century, many Jews were expelled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. Some COHENS families settled in other parts of Europe, such as Italy and the Netherlands. One famous Italian COHENS was Rabbi Ovadiah ben Yaakov Sforno (1470-1550), a renowned biblical commentator from Italy.

As Jews migrated across the world, the surname COHENS spread to various regions. In the 17th century, some COHENS families settled in the Netherlands, where they played a prominent role in the Dutch Jewish community. One notable figure was Manuel COHENS Belinfante (1634-1683), a Dutch Sephardic Jewish philosopher and writer.

In the 19th century, many COHENS families immigrated to the United States and other parts of the world. Among them was Emma COHENS (1844-1919), an American educator and activist who was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement.

Other notable individuals with the surname COHENS include Leonard COHENS (1934-2016), a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, and Manny COHENS (born 1964), an American film director and producer known for movies like The Big Lebowski and True Grit.

While the surname COHENS has Jewish roots, it has been adopted by individuals of various backgrounds and religions over the centuries, reflecting the diverse paths taken by those bearing this ancient name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cohens

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cohens.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cohens was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cohens has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cohens was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cohens, please contact us.

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