# Were their ancestors Jewish? (Surname question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105 "2008-03-20T18:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/1 "2008-03-20T18:06:26Z")
Some of my distant relations have the surname “Koon.” They are of German descent, as far as they know, and their ancestors who came to the US were in the Church of the Brethren. But the resemblance of Koon to Cohen makes me suspect that their further-back ancestors were Jewish. What do you think? Is it likely that anyone with a Cohen-style last name has Jewish ancestry, or were there similar-sounding/-spelled non-Jewish surnames in Europe? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/2 "2008-03-20T18:40:23Z")
Make that title, “Were their ANCESTORS Jewish?” drat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/3 "2008-03-20T18:42:09Z")
I dunno, but the most likely surname that came to mind was Kuhn. Leave it to an Ellis Island clerk to get that kind of thing wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/4 "2008-03-20T18:48:49Z")
Maybe you can talk one of the male relatives into getting a [genealogical DNA test.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-chromosomal_Aaron) ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/5 "2008-03-20T19:12:43Z")
\ Fixed title. \ ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/6 "2008-03-20T19:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] I dunno, but the most likely surname that came to mind was Kuhn. Leave it to an Ellis Island clerk to get that kind of thing wrong. [/QUOTE] My first reaction when reading “Koon” was also that this name could very likely be derived from “Kühn” (With an umlaut u), which is quite a common surname. Kühn is a German adjective meaning bold or brave. AFAIK it is not per se a typically Jewish name (unlike Kohn or Cohen, which is probably where you got that association from; but that name is derived from the Kohanim priests and thus has no relationship whatsoever to Kühn). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/7 "2008-03-20T19:47:14Z")
Sound-alike names don’t necessarily have any genealogical link. [Cohen is a common surname in Ireland](http://www.ireland.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=), with no connection to the same Jewish name; more likely a variant of Coen, another Irish surname. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/8 "2008-03-22T15:08:59Z")
If the name was anglicised phonetically the best match for an original German name would be _Kuhn_ (pronounced coon), the [106th most frequent surname in Germany](http://nachname.gofeminin.de/w/nachnamen/nachname-kuhn.html), interpreted variously as derived from the first name _Konrad_ (“bold in council”), from the adj./adv. _kühn_ (“bold”), from the Hungarian last name Kún, or indeed from _Cohen_ by way of _Cohn_. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/9 "2008-03-22T21:02:08Z")
[QUOTE=tschild] the first name _Konrad_ (“bold in council”), [/QUOTE] Apology for the hijack, but could this first name Konrad be connected to the last name [Coonrod](http://www.karensgen.com/lowe/coonrod.php) ? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-their-ancestors-jewish-surname-question/442105/10 "2008-03-22T21:42:03Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Apology for the hijack, but could this first name Konrad be connected to the last name [Coonrod](http://www.karensgen.com/lowe/coonrod.php) ? [/QUOTE] Well the page you link to gives Conrad as the person’s father’s name. Wouldn’t be a phonetic gallification or a phonetic anglification, though.