Kohn
A surname of Jewish origin, commonly a German form of Cohen, meaning a priestly lineage.
The #3,673 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,826 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Kohn is generally treated as a German spelling or adaptation of Hebrew Cohen, the word for a priest. In German-speaking Jewish usage, it appears as a phonetic or orthographic form of the same hereditary priestly name. Some older sources also note related spellings such as Kahn or Kohnstamm in this family of surnames.
History
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname writers consistently link Kohn with Jewish priestly descent. The name is found among German Jewish families and was carried abroad by migration, especially to English-speaking countries. In modern use it is a fairly well-established Jewish surname, though not all bearers necessarily descend from priestly lines in a literal genealogical sense.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One early surname writer even notes that Kohn could be rendered as Cowan in some Anglicized German-Jewish name forms.
From the historical record
“kolo] KOHN (Heb.) a Ger. form of Cohen, q.v. in Diet. KONRAD \(Ger.) Bold Counsel [O.Ger. KOHR^^H I Kuonrdt—OM.Gex. kuoni (mod. kiihn), bold, keen -|- rdt . (mod. rat{h) = O.Sax. rad, counsel, advice] See Conrad in Diet.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)