Cohen (surname)

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Cohen (Hebrew: כֹּהֵןkōhēn', means: "A Priest") is a Jewish surname of biblical origins (see: Kohen). It is the most common Jewish surname, comparable to "Smith" in English-speaking societies.

Bearing the name indicates that the ancestors of a person so named were priests in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Being a Cohen also imposes some disadvantages, however; specifically, by Jewish religious law a Cohen may not marry a divorced woman (only a single woman or a widow) or may not marry someone who converted to judaism, for example.

An effort to trace whether or not people named "Cohen" actually have a common genetic origin is involved in the specific DNA signature associated with the name known as the Cohen Modal Haplotype.

Cohen may refer to:

[edit] People

Cohen, the surname of many people:

[edit] Scientists

[edit] Educators

[edit] Writers

  • Abraham Cohen de Herrera, a Spanish born philosopher, kabbalist, and professor. Works written in 17th century Amsterdam.
  • Albert Cohen, a Greek-born Jewish Swiss novelist who wrote in French
  • Allen Cohen, editor of the San Francisco Oracle.
  • Claudia Cohen, an American gossip columnist, socialite and television maven
  • Elie Aron Cohen (1909-1993), doctor, Auschwitz survivor, and author
  • Georg Morris Cohen Brandes, a Danish critic and scholar who had great influence on Scandinavian literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century
  • Hermann Cohen, a German philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg School of Neo-Kantianism
  • Matt Cohen (1942-1999, known by the pseudonym Teddy Jam), a Canadian writer
  • Nick Cohen, a British journalist, author, and political commentator
  • Randy Cohen, an American writer and humorist best known as the author of The Ethicist column in The New York Times Magazine
  • Octavus Roy Cohen (1891-1959), writer and author
  • Richard Cohen, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post
  • Richard E. Cohen, the congressional correspondent for a political magazine in the United States
  • Robert Cohen, a Canadian comedy writer

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Artists

  • Boris Cohen, russian painter
  • Jonah Cohen, an acclaimed graphic designer
  • Ryosuke Cohen, an internationally known mail artist (whose surname is a stylistic spelling of Japanese Kōen and does not derive from the Hebrew name)
  • Leon Cohen - painted from Belgrade
  • Lynne Cohen, a professional fine art photographer

[edit] Technologists

  • Bram Cohen, an American computer programmer, best known as the author of the peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing program and protocol BitTorrent

[edit] Entertainment industry people

[edit] Sports and Athletics

[edit] Spies

  • Eli Cohen, a celebrated Israeli spy who is recognized as one of the most successful spies of modern times
  • Lona Cohen, an American member of the Communist Party USA who was recruited into Soviet espionage in 1939 by her husband
  • Morris Cohen (1910-1995, also known as Peter Kroger), was a Soviet spy who helped pass Manhattan Project secrets to the USSR

[edit] Politicians

  • Andrew Cohen, former Governor of Uganda
  • Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a European politician who was a leader of the student protesters during the May 1968 riots in France
  • David Cohen, an American politician, noted for his service in the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • Erminie Cohen, a retired Canadian senator
  • Harry Cohen, a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom
  • Jay M. Cohen, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology, USA
  • Job Cohen, the mayor of Amsterdam
  • Leon Cohen, a Serbian activist; current adviser of President of Serbia and one of the chief negotiators of Serbia in the Kosovo dispute
  • Pierre Cohen, French polician, Mayor of Toulouse [1]
  • Ran Cohen, an Israeli politician and Knesset member of the Meretz-Yachad party
  • Shaughnessy Cohen, a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Windsor—St. Clair for the Liberal Party from 1993 to 1998
  • Stanley Cohen (1927-2004), a British Labour politician
  • Steve Cohen, a member of the Tennessee State Senate from Memphis, recently elected to the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's Ninth District
  • William Cohen, an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine

[edit] Businesspeople

  • Albert D. Cohen, a Canadian businessman who is the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Gendis Incorporated
  • Ben Cohen, a co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
  • Benjamin Cohen, a British internet entrepreneur and journalist
  • Ben Cohen, one-time owner of Baltimore's WJZ-TV
  • Evan Montvel Cohen, a co-founder and the first chairman of Air America Radio
  • Henry Cohen, the director of Föhrenwald, the third largest Displaced Persons camp in the American sector of post-WWII Germany
  • Jack Cohen (1898-1979), British businessman
  • Jay Cohen, the former CEO of World Sports Exchange (WSEX), an online gambling company
  • Joshua Lionel Cowen b. Joshua Lionel Cohen, toy train magnate
  • Lyor Cohen, CEO of Warner Music Group
  • Stephen M. Cohen, owner of the Internet domain name Sex.com
  • Steven A. Cohen, a billionaire hedge fund investor and founder of SAC Capital Partners

[edit] Lawyers

  • Arthur Cohen, an English barrister and king's counsel
  • Felix S. Cohen (1907-1953), a lawyer and legal scholar who developed an expertise in law concerning natural resources, statehood and economic development for American territories, Indian affairs, and immigration and minority problems
  • Roy Cohn, an American lawyer who came to prominence during the investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy into alleged Communism in the U.S. government
  • Jerome A. Cohen, a professor of law at New York University School of Law and an expert in Chinese law
  • Jonathan Cohen, QC, Deputy High Court Judge (Family Division), old Etonian, grandson of Lionel Leonard Cohen
  • Lionel Leonard Cohen, Law Lord, one of "the three wise men"
  • Todd Cohen, an active criminal defense attorney in Dundee, Illinois

[edit] Fictional people

  • Aina Cohen, a fictional character, xueta, Majorcan converse Jew woman, and poet, of "Mort de dama” (The death of a lady) 1931, novel of Llorenç Villalonga.
  • Brian Cohen, the main character in Monty Python's "Life of Brian", son of "Naughtius Maximus"
  • Cohen the Barbarian, a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels
  • Jenna Cohen, a fictional character in the Aliens universe.
  • Kirsten Cohen, a fictional character on the FOX television series The OC
  • Mark Cohen, a fictional character in the play Rent.
  • Maximillian Cohen, a fictional character in Pi (film).
  • Sandy Cohen, a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C.
  • Seth Cohen, a fictional character on FOX television series The O.C.
  • Sander Cohen, a fictional character from the video game BioShock

[edit] People needing to be sorted

  • Henry Cohen
  • J. M. Cohen, a prolific translator (into English) of European literature
  • Jeff Cohen (media critic), the founder of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, a media watchdog group in the US
  • John Cohen, a founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers as well as a photographer and filmmaker
  • Kalman J. Cohen, an American economist
  • Liepmann Cohen (c. 1630-1714, also known as Leffmann Behrends), was the German financial agent of the dukes and princes of Hanover
  • Mickey Cohen, a gangster in 1940s and 1950s
  • Morris Cohen (adventurer), (1887-1970, also known as "Two-Gun"), a British-born adventurer who became a bodyguard for Sun Yat-sen
  • Morris Raphael Cohen, (1880-1947), an American Jewish philosopher who united pragmatism with logical positivism and linguistic analysis
  • Richard Cohen, husband of Paula Zahn
  • Shavit Cohen, guitar player in Dublin
  • Stav Cohen, game designer in Dublin

[edit] See also

[edit] External links