Head to head · Boys' names
Kash vs Kohen
#286 vs #295 in 2025
Kash is a whisker ahead (#286 vs #295 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Kash is holding its place on the charts, Kohen is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Kohen has the edge.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Kash leads 5 measures of 6; Kohen leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1910s: Kash #3749, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1920s: Kash #3872, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1930s: Kash #3679, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1950s: Kash #3589, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1960s: Kash #3576, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1970s: Kash #3885, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1980s: Kash #4953, Kohen — — Kash higher
- 1990s: Kash #3508, Kohen #8225 — Kash higher
- 2000s: Kash #1795, Kohen #3353 — Kash higher
- 2010s: Kash #424, Kohen #825 — Kash higher
- 2020s: Kash #263, Kohen #450 — Kash higher
Kash stood higher in every recorded decade — 11 of 11.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kash | Kohen |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3749 | — |
| 1920s | #3872 | — |
| 1930s | #3679 | — |
| 1950s | #3589 | — |
| 1960s | #3576 | — |
| 1970s | #3885 | — |
| 1980s | #4953 | — |
| 1990s | #3508 | #8225 |
| 2000s | #1795 | #3353 |
| 2010s | #424 | #825 |
| 2020s | #263 | #450 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Kash
Depends on the road: 'case' or 'money-box' by way of the surname Cash, or 'one who reveals' if it stands for Arabic Kashif
As a respelling of the surname Cash, it traces to Old French casse, a case or box — the same word that gave English 'cash' in the sense of a money chest, and the surname likely belonged to case-makers. A competing account derives the surname Cash from Cassius. Separately, Kash is used as a short form of the Arabic name Kashif, from a root meaning to uncover or reveal. All three are in real use behind this spelling.
casse (Old French, 'case, box') → Cash (English surname) → Cash (American given name) → Kash
How it traveled
The surname Cash has been on English rolls for centuries, and it crossed to America early, where it is best known through the singer Johnny Cash. Surnames-as-first-names are an old American habit, and Cash joined that stream; Kash followed it with the K that also gave us Kayden beside Caden and Kaleb beside Caleb.
Kohen
Priest, in Hebrew
The kohanim of the Hebrew Bible were the priestly line descended from Aaron, who served in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The word is still used in Judaism today for men of that lineage.
כֹּהֵן (kohen) → Cohen → Kohen
How it traveled
The root is the Hebrew noun kohen, priest — a hereditary office in the Torah, held by the descendants of Aaron. Because the status passed from father to son, it became a family identifier, and when European Jews took fixed surnames it produced Cohen, along with Kohn, Kahn and Cohn, carried in great numbers to the United States by immigration in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Kash
KASH
One syllable, rhyming exactly with cash. No one will mispronounce it; the K is the only thing that needs spelling out.
- Kashy — Informal, mostly used by family and in the early years; the name is already short enough that many bearers never take a nickname at all.
- K — Initial-only, common on teams and among friends rather than in writing.
- Kash — Works in the other direction as well — the everyday short form for Kashif and Kashton, so a longer legal name can sit behind it.
Kohen
KOH-en
Two syllables, stress on the first, the h essentially silent — the same shape as Owen with a K. In Hebrew the stress falls on the second syllable instead: ko-HEN.
- Ko — Informal clipping used within families; not established as a given name on its own.
- Kohe — Occasional affectionate lengthening of the first syllable, household use only.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Kash if you want…
- a name holding steadyKash is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesKash is 1 syllable to Kohen's 2
Choose Kohen if you want…
- a name on the way upup 346 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itKohen runs 2 syllables, Kash 1
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Kash
Strengths
- One syllable, said the same way by every English speaker on first sight — no pronunciation lesson ever required.
- Reaches the same spelling from two directions: the English surname Cash and the Arabic name Kashif, so it sits comfortably in more than one family tradition.
- Can serve as the short form of a longer legal name such as Kashton or Kashif if you want both a formal and an everyday option.
To consider
- It is a homophone of the word for money, and people will make the joke. Most of it is affectionate and most of it happens once, but it does not go away.
- Cash is the spelling most people expect, so Kash will be corrected on forms and rosters for life. It is a one-letter fix, but it is a lifelong one.
- Almost everyone carrying this spelling right now is a child, so for the moment it reads distinctly young — there are few adult Kashes to set the tone. That will shift as this generation grows up.
Kohen
Strengths
- Phonetically transparent: anyone who can read Owen or Rowan can say it correctly on first sight.
- Rests on a word with an unbroken three-thousand-year record, which is rare among recently adopted given names.
- Short, two syllables, no sound that English speakers stumble over, and easy across most languages.
To consider
- Kohen is a Jewish priestly title and one of the best-known Jewish surnames. Many Jewish families find it odd or inappropriate as a first name, particularly for a child outside that lineage. Worth thinking through, and worth being ready to answer about.
- The spelling will need saying aloud. Most people default to Cohen, and Koen and Cohen are both in circulation, so expect to correct forms and email addresses.
- Because it reads as a surname, it can sound like a full name reversed when paired with certain last names — try the whole thing out loud a few times.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Kash
40%chance Kash feels dated by 2040
Kash sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Kohen
59%chance Kohen feels dated by 2040
Kohen is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Kash and Kohen in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Kash and Kohen?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Kash and Kohen each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kash or Kohen — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kash or Kohen?
- Kash, in 2025: Kash ranked #286 with 1,183 babies; Kohen ranked #295 with 1,143 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kash or Kohen?
- Kohen. Over the last five years Kash moved down 31 places; Kohen moved up 346 places.
- Which is the older name, Kash or Kohen?
- Kash entered the US charts in 1916; Kohen entered the US charts in 1996. On the American record, Kash is the older name.
- How many people are named Kash and Kohen?
- About 17,000 people named Kash are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 8,400 people named Kohen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kashs or Kohens in the classroom?
- Kash will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kohen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Kash, Kohen and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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