Hello, everyone! I’m [name]Heather[/name]. Twenty-five-year old mother of one to an almost three-year-old, [name]Anniston[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. My husband and I are expecting our second child in [name]January[/name]. We don’t know the gender, so we have to pick both a boy name and a girl name.
I have lurking on Nameberry for a while trying to gain some inspiration. I tend to like the trendier names – [name]Aidan[/name], [name]Mason[/name], [name]Ethan[/name], [name]Logan[/name], etc. – but I don’t want to use a name that is popular. I prefer using names that people are familiar with, but don’t really know anyone personally with that name. Anyway, since I’ve been checking out this site, I saw the post about [name]Cohen[/name]. I realize it is offensive and wouldn’t want to use it at all because it is so offensive to people, however, my husband likes the name Cowan.
Is this also offensive? We would pronounce it like “KOE-in.” I don’t want to use it if it is going to offend people, but we love the sound and think it works well with [name]Anniston[/name]. Thoughts or opinions on the name?
My opinion on this matter might be a little unpopular but here it goes… I am not religious and it irks me that certain names are off limits or taboo because of it’s history in a religion which I do not practice. There are plenty of kids with Arabic names that are not Muslim and no one calls it offensive. Are Christians offended by a boy named [name]Jesus[/name] or [name]Messiah[/name]? Not usually. So why are we so offended at [name]Cohen[/name]? I know this is a touchy subject so I won’t go much further, but it is one of my pet peeves.
To your original question, I love the sound of the name [name]Cohen[/name] so technically spelling it Cowan makes it not “offensive” because you did it to separate the name from [name]Cohen[/name] and it’s meaning. But… I don’t like the look of Cowan. All I see is “coward” for some reason. And COW. So, if it were me, I would use the original [name]Cohen[/name]. But if the association to a particular religion bugs you, or you’re scared of offending anyone, don’t use it. It’s not worth the worry.
I definitely see rowangreeneyes’ point about taboos in other religions, but at the same time, this is someone’s name for LIFE. It’s not just a name on a list, it has the potential to be the word that describes someone’s identity. While you’ll never be able to please everyone with your name choice, I wouldn’t want anyone to have any reason to be offended by my child’s name. There are hundreds of names out there- there has to be one that you’ll like as much as [name]Cohen[/name]. Some similar names:
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Cullen[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Carter[/name]
[name]Owen[/name]
[name]Cooper[/name]
[name]Archer[/name]
[name]Kieran[/name]
[name]Caleb[/name]
Cowan is an Irish surname and an entirely separate name from [name]Cohen[/name]. They are homonyms but that’s it. I can think of no reason not to use it (though the first 3 letters, cow, could lead to teasing…).
Until I found nameberry, I had never heard of the notion that “[name]Cohen[/name]” was considered offensive by some! In fact, I know 2 people who have named their sons [name]Cohen[/name] in the last 3 years (neither of which are Jewish), and they have never been met with criticism on religious grounds. I agree with an above post that there are plenty of names that have meaning in one religion, but are used by non-religious people without offense taken.
I think if you love the name, but don’t want to have to even think about having to deal with potential backlash, then a kre8tive spelling might be the perfect solution. I’m not usually a fan of alternative spellings, but in this case, I think it could really be the answer. I’m just not so sure about COWan for the same reasons as others have mentioned. [name]How[/name] about:
What about [name]Conan[/name] instead? Sure he’s a well liked guy on TV, but that’s safer then offending the Jewish people by using [name]Cohen[/name].
[name]Cohen[/name] to them is a religious person, so if you aren’t Jewish it would just look strange and might offend them. I’m [name]Christian[/name] and find it odd when people name their kids biblical names when they don’t believe in God, so a name like [name]Elizabeth[/name], which means “pledged to god,” looks really odd because why would you put a belief on your child that you don’t believe? It’s one thing to love a name, but you have to take meaning into account and at the same time remember that you don’t live with the name, your child does. So basically is it a name that you would feel comfortable wearing?
Personally I think [name]Cohen[/name]/Cowan is too rhymey with [name]Anniston[/name]. They both have similar endings. But agree that a different spelling like [name]Coen[/name] would be safe.
According to two other websites Cowan is a completely different name than [name]Cohen[/name]. It is Irish or Gaelic and means “Hollow in the hill” but it is pronounced Ko-Wan.
Personally I don’t think it is offensive. I am not a fan of [name]Cohen[/name] but Cowan is a great alternative. It might cause some pronunciation issues though if you pronounce it Co-en.
Where I live Cowan/Cowen/Cohen/Coen is quite popular because it is bilingual. ([name]Owen[/name] is also extremely popular here.)
This is pretty much off the point by now, but yes, absolutely I would be offended if I met a child named [name]Messiah[/name]! It’s so sacrilegious, imo, I was livid when I heard people actually use it, I am pretty sure I would be even more angry if I met one in real life. Would I say anything? Absolutely not, that’s just rude. Besides, the child already has the name, it’s not like my saying anything would help. Which is why I’m sure most people who have the name [name]Cohen[/name] haven’t heard anything negative about it–either they’re not around Jews, or the Jews are too polite to say anything. That doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there, though.
That being said, I think Cowan (or even [name]Coen[/name]/[name]Koen[/name]) is fine. They are in no way related to the Hebrew/Jewish [name]Cohen[/name]–Cowan is an Irish surname and [name]Coen[/name]/[name]Koen[/name] is a Dutch variant of [name]Conrad[/name]. Then again, [name]Coen[/name]/[name]Koen[/name] in Dutch is said more like KOON, not koh-en, so if you went for that you might have pronunciation issues if you ever visited the Netherlands (or really even that general area of Europe).
Cowan and Cowen are great- they bring the name firmly in to Gaelic surname territory, which is very safe ground The Cowens I’ve met have always pronounced it CO-en. With all the Coopers and Tuckers around, I don’t think ‘cow’ is going to be an issue…and I get the feeling that kids don’t tease other kids about names the way they did even 20 years ago- even in communities that don’t get much immigration, parents are using a much wider variety of names now than in previous generations. It’s the adults who are mean about names
I have a nephew with this name. It is a cute name and not heard of too often, at least in my area.
I wouldn’t use [name]Cohen[/name] because of the bad associations. It may not be my religion, but it is someone else’s and it would just look like I don’t care for other people’s beliefs or feelings. Cowan is a nice alternative, but I agree that the look of the name isn’t as attractive to me.
In truth, I prefer [name]Cohen[/name] to Cowen. I know it means “priest” and all, but if you don’t use it because it offends some people, I think you’ll be sorry you didn’t stick to it in the end. You shouldn’t not use a name because you’re afraid for it. There is always going to be someone that’s going to be offended by a name; let it be for a religion or because its meaning or whatever else. If you really like the name spelled [name]Cohen[/name], go for it. Plus I think COW is a little too obvious in Cowen.
The Cowens I’ve met have always pronounced it CO-en. With all the Coopers and Tuckers around, I don’t think ‘cow’ is going to be an issue…and I get the feeling that kids don’t tease other kids about names the way they did even 20 years ago- even in communities that don’t get much immigration, parents are using a much wider variety of names now than in previous generations. It’s the adults who are mean about names