Cohen Surname: Y-DNA Haplogroup

Published genetics research or a documented case study links the surname Cohen to a specific Y-DNA paternal-line haplogroup.

J-P58 (Cohen Modal Haplotype / extended CMH)
Clade J1
High confidence 📍 Jewish (Ashkenazi and Sephardi), Near Eastern/Levantine origin
Also spelled: Cohn, Kohn, Kahn, Kahan, Kogan, Kagan, Coen, Cahn, Cohan
Original CMH found in ~46.1% of 215 self-identified Cohanim (oral/synagogue-designated priestly status) vs only 5-8% of non-Cohen Jewish men (Hammer 2009); the tighter extended 12-marker CMH was found in ~29.8% of Cohanim and is essentially absent in non-Jews. Studies recruited participants by self-identified priestly caste status, not surname alone. Surname Cohen and its phonetic spellings historically denote priestly descent, but bearing the surname is a statistical ENRICHMENT for J-P58, not a guarantee.
Source: Skorecki et al. 1997, Nature 385:32; Thomas et al. 1998, Nature 394:138-140; Hammer et al. 2009, Human Genetics 126:707-717
How to read this. A surname match means some people with that surname, in a specific study or family record, were found to share a haplogroup, most likely due to a shared patrilineal ancestor generations back. It is not proof that you personally carry that haplogroup: surnames change through adoption, remarriage, non-paternity events, and independent origin of the same name in different families. For your own confirmed haplogroup, test your DNA with our HaploAI Y-DNA/mtDNA predictor.
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Surnames follow the paternal line, and so does the Y chromosome. A FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA test compares you with other men who carry your surname, inside its free surname projects, and tells you whether you descend from the same ancestor.

Paternal line · entry

Y-DNA37

37 Y-STR markers: enough to see whether you match a surname group and to join its project.

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Y-DNA111

111 markers: separates close branches of the same family and sharpens the timing of a shared ancestor.

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