Cohen (Samaritan priestly line) Surname: Y-DNA Haplogroup
Published genetics research or a documented case study links the surname Cohen (Samaritan priestly line) to a specific Y-DNA paternal-line haplogroup.
E3b1a (M78) [modern: E-M78 / E1b1b1a1]
Clade E
Also spelled: Ha-Cohen; Samaritan Kohen
One of the 4 surviving Samaritan patrilineal families (the priestly/Levite line). Study found this family does NOT carry the Cohen Modal Haplotype (J1-M267) associated with Jewish Kohanim/Cohanim despite the shared priestly title and tradition of descent from Aaron - a notable divergence the authors highlight as surprising.
Source: Shen P, Lavi T, Kivisild T, Chou V, Sengun D, Gefel D, Shpirer I, Woolf E, Hillel J, Feldman MW, Oefner PJ (2004). "Reconstruction of patrilineages and matrilineages of Samaritans and other Israeli populations from Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA sequence variation." Human Mutation, 24(3):248-260.
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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