I would like to start a list of Kohanic last names. Please feel free to post the obvious and the not so obvious. I heard of a Kohain with the last name Levy and a man named Rich Cohen who said he wasn't a Kohain, but it was okay since he wasn't rich either.
To start the ball rolling...
Katz (a contraction of "Kohain Tzedek" or righteous priest)
Kahn
Cohen
Kagen (as in the Chafetz Chaim. It is an Eastern European way of saying Kohain)
Kaplan (for Ashkenazim. In Turkish Kaplan means "tiger")
Rapaport/Rapoport (One of the most distinguished of priestly families. The Gra was "podeh" himself by every Kohain he met until he met a member of the Rapaport family. Supposedly they have a shtar yichus [family tree with all the names] going back to Aharon)
Shapiro (some, not all. I heard it has to do with the grandson of the Maharal who was last named Katz. He married a Shapiro and took her name because she had no brothers. Anyone else hear of this?)
Kahane (Aramaic for Kohain)
Kahana (variation)
KOHANIM: Please add your last name in the comments section!
14 comments:
Coen
Kagan
Quinn
Azulay (acronym: isha zonah vachalalah lo yikachu)
(Note: I'm not a cohen).
You can add "Adler"(eagle),since they spread their arms like an eagles's wings when duchaning.
Someone once told me that there is a clalah (curse) pronounced on all those who say the name "Azulay" stands for the above. I don not remember who it was that declared it. Anyone know?
Does anyone know about 'Kohns' ?
The name "Foxman" can be added. Not all Foxmans are Cohanim, but many are. Originally from Poland, and changed from Fuchsman.
Maguri, yemenite family with shtar ichus.
Some Kohanic last names I know of:
- Sakols
- Shuster
- Ginsparg
- Ginsberg
- Wengrow
- Lorber
- Fishman
- Aronin
- Abdul-Jabbar (kidding!)
No idea what they're derived from, though.
And FYI, there are people out there with Kohanic last names who are not Kohanim. (Gabbais learn this lesson early on.) The two reasons I've heard is that (1) somewhere down the line there was a conversion in the family, or that (2) the person was adopted. (Same goes, obviously, for people with Levitic last names who aren't necessarily being Leviim.)
My family name is Lurie and we are Kohanim but I have met other Luries who are not. Any answers?
The name was probably changed. Interestingly enough, the Maharal's daughter married a Katz (Kohain) and had a son who married a woman with no brothers so he took on her last name of Shapiro. That's why there are Kohain and non-Kohain Shapiros around today.
At least this is what I heard. I have no idea if it's accurate.
My last name is Wrona, which is Polish for raven. There are Wrona kohanim in the US and in Brasil, all of us originally from Poland.
Theory is that some of the Rapaports when coming into Poland changed their name into the very polish name Wrona. Rapa is German for raven. Another one is that Rapaports lived in Verona in Italy and changed it to Wrona when coming to Poland.
Interested to see the Shtar Yichus of the Rapaports.
You can add Koplen to the list.
Is Kessler a Kohainic name?
You can add Koplen to the list.
Is Kessler a Kohainic name?
Lurie in my family are Kohanim but other Luries are not. Any information?
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