Kagan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Israel

Etymology of Kagan

What does the name Kagan mean?

Jewish surnames were reserved for exceptional individuals, people who were scholars and poets. Therefore, families began to use their surnames as a sign of prominence because of their established family name. 1

The distinguished surname Kagan is a proud sign of an ancient Jewish culture. The surname Kagan is an occupational surname for a priest, and it comes from the Hebrew word "kohen." Traditionally, priests were considered to have been members of a hereditary caste, descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. Not all Jewish bearers of the surname Kagan belong to this caste, however. When many Jews were being forced to join the Russian Army for a term of 25 years, a number of them changed their last name to Kagan, because members of the clergy were exempt from service.

Kagan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cohen, Kahn, Cohan, Cohn, Coen, Kohn, Kohen, Cahan, Cahn, Cahen, Kahen, Cohane, Kahane, Kahan, Cohani, Cahani, Cahany, Kahany, Cahana, Kahana, Cohener, Kohener, Kohaner, Kahner, Kahaner, Cohansky, Cahansky, Kahansky, Kogen, Kogan, Cagan, Kagan, Kuhn and many more.

Kagan Ranking

In the United States, the name Kagan is the 10,891^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Kagan migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kagan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Kagan, aged 26, who landed in New York, NY in 1840 4
Simon Kagan, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1840 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Kagan (post 1700) +

Kimberly Ellen Kagan (b. 1972), American military historian
Jerome Kagan (1929-2021), American psychologist
Mimi Kagan (1918-1999), née Miriam Gabrilovna Kagan, known as Miriam Odza, Mimi Kagan Kim, Russia-born American modern dancer, choreographer, educator and dance journalist
Robert Kagan (b. 1958), American columnist and political scientist
Shelly Kagan (b. 1956), American Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University
Jeremy Paul Kagan (b. 1945), American film and television director, screenwriter, and television producer
Frederick W. Kagan (b. 1970), American resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
Emily Peters Kagan (b. 1981), American mixed martial artist
Elena Kagan (b. 1960), American lawyer, she serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
David Dennis Kagan (b. 1949), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Weiss, Nelly. The origin of Jewish family names: morphology and history. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
Weiss, Nelly. The Origin of Jewish family names: Morphology and History. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)