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This also through history becomes A Kohen (or Cohen, Hebrew כּהן, 'priest', pl. כּהנִים, Kohanim or Cohanim) is a Jew who is in direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron,older brother of Moses, with an honored status in Judaism. Another term for the descendants of Aaron are the Aaronites or Aaronids.

Because Aaron was a member of the Tribe of Levi, all Kohanim today are levites, by direct patrilineal descent. However, not all Levites are Kohanim. It is being found that they also have B positive Blood with special markers. (NGEO Family Tree)

clues indicate possible Jewish ancestry and whether you match others who are Jewish. Our Jewish comparative databases are the largest in the world, containing records for Ashkenazim and Sephardim, as well as Levites and Cohanim.

There are numerous variations to the spelling of the surname Kohen. These are often corrupted by translation or transliteration into or from other languages, as exemplified below (not a complete list).

  • English: Cohen, Cahn, Carne, Cohn, Conn, Conway, Cohan, Chaplan (Cohan is also an Irish surname and Conway is also a surname of Welsh origin)
  • German: Kohn, Kuhn, Kahn, Kann, Cann, Cön/Coen, Katz (name) (a Hebrew abbreviation for Kohen Zedek (כהן צדק) i.e. "righteous Kohen" or "righteous priest")
  • Dutch: Cohen, Conklin, Kon, Katten (translated as "Kohen"), Käin/Kaein
  • French: Cahen, Cohen, Caen
  • Italian: Coen, Cohen, Sacerdote (Italian for "priest"), Sacerdoti
  • Spanish: Coen, Cohen, Koen, Cannoh, Canno, Canoh, Cano
  • Russian: Kogan, Brevda, Kagedan/Kagidan (in Hebrew, this name is spelled "kaf-shin-daled-nun" and is an acronym for "Kohanei Shluchei DeShmaya Ninhu," which is Aramaic for, "priests are the messengers of heaven"). Kazhdan/Kazdan/Kasdan/Kasdin/Kasden are also possible variations of this name.
  • Serbian: Koen, Kon, Kojen
  • Polish: Kon
  • Portuguese: Cunha
  • Turkish: Kohen
  • Arabic: al-Kohen‎
  • Japanese: Kinkaku
  • Ancient/Modern Hebrew: Kohen, HaKohen, ben-Kohen, bar-Kohen
  • Others: Maze (acronym of mi zerat Aharon, i.e. "from the seed of Aaron"), Azoulai (acronym from ishah zonah ve'challelah lo yikachu, meaning "a foreign or divorced woman he shall not take;" prohibition binding on Kohanim), Rappaport, Shapiro, Kahane, Quinn (Gaelic or English), Kohanchi (Persian).[citation needed]

However, by no means are all Jews with these surnames Kohanim. Additionally, some "Kohen"-type surnames are considered stronger indications of the status than others. "Cohen" is one of the hardest to substantiate due to its sheer commonality.

In contemporary Israel, "Moshe Cohen" is the equivalent of "John Smith" in English-speaking countries - i.e., proverbially the most common of names.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_

Levites As a Surname

Some Levites have adopted a related last name to signify their status. Because of diverse geographical locations, the names have several variations:

  • Levi, Lévy - Hebrew for "Levite", equally common in Ashkenazic and Sephardic groups.
  • HaLevi, Halevi and Halevy are Hebrew language and all translate to "the Levi" or "the Levite."
  • Levin - a Russian variation, also Levine or Lavine (pronounced \le-°vēn\, rhyming with "ravine" or in some cases, anglicised as \lə-°vīn\ rhyming with "divine") and Lewin a Polish variation. Sometimes supplemented with German 'thal' (valley) to Levinthal or Leventhal and -sohn and -son to Levinson or Levinsohn as a patronymic, and with slavic -ski and -sky suffixes Levinski, Levinsky, Lewinski and Lewinsky (the 'e' often replaced with 'a' in German areas).
  • Lev a simplified Russian variation
  • Lewicki Polish "of the Levites", also Lewicka, Lewycka, Lewycki, Lewycky, Lewicky, Levicki, Levicky (can also originate from placenames in Poland).
  • Lewita Polish "Levite" or Levita Latinized, with Slavic suffix -an/in Lewitan, Levitan (the greatest family name of Levite origin), Levitin, Lewitin, Lewitinn, and with additional suffix -ski/sky Levitanski, Lewitanski, Levitansky, also Lewitas, Levitas, Belarusian.
  • Variants from Yiddish "Leyvik", a pet form of Leyvi: Levitch Ukrainian variant, also Levicz, Levis, Levitz, Lewicz, Lewitz, Lewis, and with -ski and -sky suffixes Leviczky, Levitski, Levitsky, Lewitski and Lewitsky ('e' and 's' often replaced with 'a' and 'z' in German areas).
  • Loewy, Löwi, Löwy, and Loewe German or Swiss variations (although the usual origin for these names is Loewe, the German word for "lion").
  • Leevi - a Finnish variation.
  • "Leven"- a Sweadish variation

Having a last name of Levi or a related term does not necessarily mean a person is a Levite, and many Levites do not have such last names. Levitical status is passed down in families from parent to child, as part of a family's genealogical tradition. In traditional Judaism, tribal status is determined by patrilineal descent, so a child whose biological father is a Levite is a Levite (in cases of adoption or artificial insemination, status is determined by the genetic father). Because Jewish status is traditionally determined by matrilineal descent, conferring levitical status on children requires both biological parents to be Jews and the biological father to be a Levite.

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