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

Kogan, 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 Kogan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kogan in America

Kogan is the 10387th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kogan surname appeared 3,102 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kogan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kogan 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 Kogan

The surname Kogan is of Jewish origin, derived from the Hebrew word "kohen," meaning "priest." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages among Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

The earliest recorded instances of the Kogan surname can be traced back to the 16th century in various historical documents and records from these regions. One notable early example is Shmuel Kogan, a Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived in the city of Lublin, Poland, in the late 1500s.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kogan surname became more widely adopted by Jewish families, often with variations in spelling, such as Kahan, Kahan, or Kogon. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects, linguistic influences, and transliteration differences.

In the 19th century, the Kogan surname gained recognition through the works of several notable individuals. One such figure was Yehuda Leib Kogan, a prominent Russian-Jewish writer and journalist who lived from 1838 to 1892. Another was Leon Kogan, a Russian-born American chess master who was active in the early 20th century (1859-1939).

Other historical figures with the Kogan surname include:

1. David Kogan (1858-1935), a Russian-born American entrepreneur and philanthropist.
2. Vladimir Kogan (1838-1925), a Russian mathematician and educator.
3. Lazar Kogan (1873-1953), a Russian-born American painter and art teacher.
4. Mikhail Kogan (1898-1942), a Soviet military commander during World War II.
5. Nelly Kogan (1898-1985), a Russian-born American pianist and music educator.

The Kogan surname has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Eastern Europe. For example, the town of Kogan in Ukraine and the village of Kogany in Poland may have derived their names from historical residents bearing the Kogan surname.

While the Kogan surname has its roots in Jewish communities, over time, it has become more widely adopted by individuals of various backgrounds and ethnicities, particularly in regions with a significant Jewish diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kogan

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

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 Kogan 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 Kogan 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 Kogan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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