Coen

Coen is a name with two possible origins. First, it’s a modern variant of Cohen, which is the transferred use of a Jewish surname. In Hebrew “kōhēn” means “priest”. In Jewish tradition Kohens are distinguished as hereditary priests directly descended from the biblical Aaron. As the elder brother of Moses, Aaron was appointed by God as the first High Priest of Israel (כהן גדול), or Kohen Gadol. As most people are aware, Cohen is a very common Jewish surname, the bearers of which are said to descend from the ancient priests of Jerusalem’s two Temples (which stood between the 10th century B.C. and the first century A.D. before their destructions at the hands of the Babylonians and Romans, respectively). In modern times, Cohen and Kohen have been taken up as masculine given names (as well as Coen and Koen) primarily in the United States, Canada and Australia. Alternately, Coen could be a simple respelling of Koen, a Dutch name short for Koenraad (English: Conrad) – although the Dutch would pronounce Koen as “KOON”. Koenraad is basically the Dutch equivalent of the German Konrad, from the Germanic elements “kuon” meaning “bold” and “rad” meaning “counsel” signifying a “bold ruler”. Wherever one assigns this name’s etymology (i.e., to Cohen or Koenraad), the Coen spelling is a very modern coinage.