Kohen is a spelling variant of Cohen, the Hebrew word for "priest" and the surname of the families descended from Aaron who served in the Temple. Because of that sacred meaning, some Jewish voices object to its use as a first name, but many American parents simply like its sound next to Koa and Kade. Kohen entered the US top 1000 in 2011, climbed from number 786 in 2015 to 296 in 2025 and has never ranked higher.