which one??

i think we're getting closer to picking our little guys name (yay)
i wanted to ask your opinion on which name sounds better

nathaniel cohen or cohen grey??

Nathaniel Cohen is great! I love Nathaniel, AND Grey. What about Nathaniel Grey?

lyndsayjenness wrote:Nathaniel Cohen is great! I love Nathaniel, AND Grey. What about Nathaniel Grey?

Nathaniel Grey is so cute!

I'd definitely go with Nathaniel Grey or Nathaniel Cohen. I know about 10 different families with the last name of Cohen, so that's all I think of when I hear the name.

What about Ezra, Gideon, or Levi (but not with Nathaniel) instead of Cohen?

Good luck!

I just want to add that I think Colin would work well, too. I think Nathaniel Colin sounds great!

my husband really likes cohen so i was trying to come up with a combo we both can agree on. we've narrowed our list down to 4 so thats exciting

A Cohen is a Jewish priest and a religious name, so if you're not Jewish, I'd stay away from it, but that's just me. :-) (It would pretty much be like a non-Christian person naming their child Jesus, a non-Muslim person naming their child Mohammed, or a non-Catholic person wearing a rosary as jewelry simply because it looks cool, so if you're not Jewish, please be aware that many Jewish people may be understandably offended by a non-Jewish Cohen.)

Even if you are Jewish, I'd personally keep Cohen as a middle name, as I can already hear the "Cone Head" and "Ice Cream Cone" jokes on the playground. :-(

I think Nathaniel is fantastic, though!

jill, sorry, but naming your child cohen is not really like naming your child jesus. and, in any case, lots of non-strictly-practicing christians DO name their children jesus -- have you ever been to a spanish speaking country? : )
i'm not super fond of cohen. not because of the cohanim; just because it's not my style. that said, i think if you and your husband feel a connection to leonard cohen's work, that's a waaayyy better reason to give when you're asked, "mum, why'd you name me cohen?" than "well honey, we asked the people on this one website and they all suggested ___"

lejeunesse wrote:jill, sorry, but naming your child cohen is not really like naming your child jesus. and, in any case, lots of non-strictly-practicing christians DO name their children jesus -- have you ever been to a spanish speaking country? : )
i'm not super fond of cohen. not because of the cohanim; just because it's not my style. that said, i think if you and your husband feel a connection to leonard cohen's work, that's a waaayyy better reason to give when you're asked, "mum, why'd you name me cohen?" than "well honey, we asked the people on this one website and they all suggested ___"

Sorry, but to me, a non-Jewish person naming their child Cohen is very much the same as a non-Christian person naming their child Jesus. (Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word Christian, as I intended to refer to all religions, including Catholicism, in which members pray to Jesus.)

I have been to Spanish speaking countries, and it's safe to say that those named Jesus are Catholic or Protestant, not Jewish. Children are named Jesus because Jesus holds deep religious meaning to their parents.

Cohen isn't just some random surname being used as a first name (such as Beckett, Finn, Miller, or Preston), because it holds religious meaning to many Jewish people. I still strongly feel that using a name infused with religious meaning when not a member of the given religion, is offensive and disrespectful to those for whom the name does hold religious meaning.

I ran this name by some Jewish friends when this post first appeared, and they were quite offended that Cohen is being viewed as "just another surname" by those who are unaware of its meaning. They thought it was very disrespectful. As one friend said, "That's like a Jewish person naming their baby Deacon, Bishop, or Pope. It's wrong."

If I was pondering a name for my baby, and someone told me it may be viewed as disrespectful to a group of people, I'd appreciate being told this before I named my baby, as opposed to after. If I chose to ignore the information, that would be my right, but at least I'd be informed!

I thought (and still think) it was important that the original poster was made aware of the fact that many Jewish people would be (and were) offended by the name, and why.

The great thing about Nameberry, is that we all have different opinions, and people are free to disagree with others. :-)

I'm going to second the concerns about Cohen, unless the child will come from a Jewish background (which could very well be the case for your family; I don't know you, of course). Not being Jewish, I'd feel VERY uncomfortable about using it.

I like Nathaniel, though!