Thoughts on Cohen?

[fluentinsarcasm]

Really grown on me, what do you think?

Hundreds of millions of people around the world are religious. You can't possibly blame everyone for what someone does "in the name of religion". Doing something in the name of religion and being religious are not the same thing!
I also can't believe you want to call your child a deeply religious name as a fuck you to religion!

You may not have realised it would cause offence and be inappropriate to call somebody Cohen and the same may go for lots of people but now you DO know so it is irrelevant if you do a straw poll at work.

Know better, do better. It's not about you, it's about your child!

I'm just getting Warlock, Pope and Mullah ready for school now...

Mavis don't forget their suncream, it's going to be a hot un. Im not sure whether to send Archbishop in today. He has a tummy ache apparently but I think it's because he's not practiced his Barmitvah portion and doesn't want another detention. Kids eh.

Mother Superior rather likes sunny days. But then she is a cat...

I'm rather fond of Warlock.

As Disastrous said earlier it's a bit like calling your child Pope Smith while being an anti-religious atheist.

Believe it or not a friend of a friend called their son Pope. They live in the US and he'd be well over 16 by now.

Oh op, you may want to bow out now. You are sounding a little ridiculous.

I know a non-Jewish Cohen who is in his early thirties, never been an issue for him.

It was the 297th most common name in England and Wales last year.

I was coming on to say I really liked it! Had no idea about the Jewish connection....

Oh I've never bowed out of anything in my life biginjapan and not starting now!

If anyone is offended by a child named Coen O' Shaughnessy then I'd say they are the ridiculous ones.

I've had messages saying their child is called Coen and not had one negative comment.

I'm off to work now, I'll leave you all to try and top trumps each other with witty comments. Have fun .

Prob because Coen is not Cohen

Coen is a Germanic variant of the name "Conrad", most popular in the Dutch language.

But that is not the name you asked about, you asked about Cohen and said you didnt care if you offended anyone, Jews specifically.

Way to go changing your argument last minute?

Had you asked about Coen no one would have batted an eye lid.

I will pray for baby Co(h)en.

This thread is the definition of Entitlement.

ooo bunfight! coen is lovely though!

I know it as a Jewish surname and link it to Leonard Cohen in my head. I like the sound of it as a name.

However, I had no idea about the significance it holds in the Jewish faith and to that end this thread has been very informative and interesting.

If I were the OP I would take on board the comments made and feel glad I had asked I advance rather than once I had picked the name. In the light of what I have read there is no way I would use it. One PP has said if religion isn't playing a part in your life then it doesn't really matter (I'm paraphrasing). But the point is that you really have no idea where your son might go or he will choose to do with his life. There's no law and your can ignore what is said and press on with your choice. However, you do so in a far better position of knowledge that it may offend.

I've had to name change because this is outing and I don't want people to connect me to my other threads.
My son is called Cohen, his Irish dad suggested it and I liked it but liked this spelling. I knew it was a Jewish surname but I have friends with children called thinks like Jackson and Harrison which I consider surnames and didn't realise it was offensive.
Many of you will now consider me a 'moron' and after reading this thread I now feel like a terrible mum for giving my son a name which is potentially going to offend people which I never intended.

As a Jew, I find people's 'moron' responses on this thread more offensive than someone naming their child Cohen in ignorance of the word's significance.

To Jews, Cohen is a title and a surname. That does not mean it is stupid or offensive to use it as a first name.

Yes, I would consider it a weird name to give your child. But it's not so long ago that naming a child Brooklyn was considered weird.

(The OP OTOH is behaving like a GF, with her I-don't-give-a-damn attitude. Which makes me wonder just how genu....)

I'm also Jewish.
You can use any traditionally Jewish or Hebrew name you like, I wouldn't see that as offensive. However, Cohen is a surname which basically states you are descended from priests, rather than a name like David, Noah etc.

So I think it's a pretty odd choice for someone who isn't interested in religion.

And good for you OP for checking before using it, assuming you'll listen to the advice given.

I think Coen is fine, I don't think it has the same association and it's a perfectly nice name.

I'm not Jewish, but after reading all the posts above I think I would avoid this name. It will at best puzzle and at worst offend a lot of people. I don't happen to like "surnamey" names very much anyway, but this one is going to be more problematic than most.

or a Jew naming their dc Veronica or Elizabeth

Presumably the Biblical Elizabeth (Mary's relative) was Jewish!

Presumably the Biblical Elizabeth (Mary's relative) was Jewish!
Yes. Elizabeth is an anglicised version of Elisheva, which is a fairly common Hebrew name both in Israel and among religious (and not so religious) Jews worldwide.

It's one of the most Jewish surnames I can think of, so I'd find it really odd as a first name, and odd to have anywhere in a name if you weren't Jewish.

I love Leonard Cohen and thought of Leonard for our baby boy arriving in October. It got vetoed because it would get shortened to Lenny or Len

Person not from an ethnic minority in "I don't care about cultural appropriation" shocker 🙄