If I liked Cohen...

[spnfan]

DH and I settled on Cohen for our DS - due in Spring - I had fallen in love with the name but I googled it and I couldn't go ahead with the name knowing it could be offensive in the Jewish community.

So we are back to square one and we're both absolutely stuck for ideas now.

What should we call our boy instead?

Lloyd?

Owen
Rohan
Cole
Cary
Otto
Asher
Soren
Keir
Xavier
Joel
Leon

Corey
Henry
Rory
Carl
Owen
Aaron
Adam
Oscar
Oliver
Drew
Dexter

Cobhan Ir (pronounced Covan)
Conrad
Connor
Colton
Caspar
Colm
Cowan

Just spell it differently.

Name him Coen. It sounds the same but with this spelling, it is a Dutch name , which has a different meaning all together and will cause no offense.

It’s not pronounced Coen tho - more like Con or Cone

Eben
Logan

Why is it offensive

ok there is also an Aboriginal name Coen with a meaning of brave or thunder.

Think it is pronounced same as Cohen.

Go for that.

You can call him Coen and say it the same as Cohen.

@sonlypuppyfat

It's a common Jewish surname which represents an ancient biblical priestly heritage. It would never be used as a first name by Jewish people as it is a title / surname. It is not just any Jewish surname either as the name Cohen is reserved for the priestly caste descended directly from the biblical Aaron

It is therefore quite offensive for non Jewish people to use it as a first name.

Oran
Carson
Wyatt
Ellis
Holden

Conan ?

Nathan
Ethan
Evan
Ryan
Rohan
Rowan

Conrad
Corbin

Cole
Corrin
Caleb
Callum
Reuben

I’m not keen on Coen for the pronunciation issues.

Cole is a great suggestion. Otto. Miles. Caleb.

And yes, as a Jew, and as someone who normally can’t get worked up about what other people call their children, this micro-trend of Cohen as a first name really gets my goat. I assume a glaring lack of cultural sensitivity on the parents’ part.

Yeas, stupid not to call your son a name because it might offend a religious group. Unless you and your family are Jewish.

Where does being offended end? And why should you care if you and your family aren't Jewish?

But it's a bit like calling your child Brahmin or Druid, or even "vicar" or "Sir", Fatso (no they're not all direct equivalents to "Cohen" before anyone starts ).

It's just a slightly odd thing to do, with a vague whiff of appropriation or ignorance, and you'll get funny looks and double takes and spend a lot of time saying "Yes, Cohen with an 'H'," and "Jewish club? No thanks" to various people.

Why would you?

Where does being offended end? And why should you care if you and your family aren't Jewish?

Well, presumably because she doesn't want to be an offensive arse.

Unlike you.

I agree with squoosh & Battleax. Lots of posters on this board want to avoid giving accidental offense and putting their child in a position to have to explain their parents' naming rationale over and over. Who would want to saddle their baby with (in the absolute best case scenario) that lifelong hassle?

Lennon

Conan

Caelan
Caleb
Connor
Cole

Amazing!! Thank you for all your replies.

@Fatso - I'm not comfortable with the appropriation of a significant cultural name so sadly for me Cohen is off the list. I don't think he'd appreciate a life time of "It wasn't because I'm Jewish - She named me after Leonard Cohen."

Thank you all for your suggestions!! I was very much struggling with a starting point. Some really great suggestions here - will go through them with DH over a cuppa!

Leonard isn't a bad name itself, you know.