NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Coben

Son of a chaplain, a variant of the Welsh name "Cowan".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Coben is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Coben popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3254, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2012, with 16 births.

This profile covers 205 England and Wales registrations across 22 recorded years from 2002 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 38% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 211 living people in the UK are called Coben. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Coben ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 6 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2012, when 16 boys were registered as Coben.
  • Coben ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #669 in 2012.
  • About 211 living people in the UK are estimated to have Coben as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#3254

2024

Births in 2024

6

Latest year

Peak year

2012

16 births

Estimated living

211

2026

Meaning

What does Coben mean?

The name Coben is of Hebrew origin, derived from the word "kohen," which means "priest" in Hebrew. This name has its roots in ancient Jewish culture and tradition, dating back to biblical times.

The name Coben was likely first used among Jewish communities in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region during antiquity. It was commonly given to boys born into the priestly class, known as the Kohanim, who were responsible for performing religious rituals and ceremonies in the Temple of Jerusalem.

In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Exodus mentions the appointment of Aaron and his sons as the first Kohanim, tasked with overseeing the priesthood and carrying out sacred duties. This event marks the earliest known reference to the name and its association with the priestly lineage.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Coben was Coben ben Yitzhak, a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain during the 12th century. He is known for his works on Jewish law and ethics, which had a significant influence on medieval Jewish thought.

Another notable figure bearing the name Coben was Coben ben Sheshet, a 14th-century Spanish rabbi and influential Talmudic scholar. He is widely recognized for his legal writings and his contributions to the development of Jewish law during the Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain.

In the 16th century, Coben ben Levi, a Jewish mystic and Kabbalist from Safed, Israel, gained prominence for his teachings on the Kabbalah and his work on the Zohar, a foundational text of Jewish mysticism.

During the 17th century, Coben ben Meir Rothenburg, a German rabbi and scholar, made significant contributions to the study of Jewish law and tradition. His writings and rulings had a lasting impact on the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe.

In more recent times, Coben Yaacov Culi, a 20th-century Yemenite-Israeli rabbi and scholar, was highly regarded for his expertise in Jewish law and his efforts to preserve the traditions and customs of Yemenite Jewry after their migration to Israel.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Coben over time

The chart below shows babies named Coben registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2002 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Coben, the clearest high point is 2012. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2024, compared with 16 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Coben
0481216200220132024

Decades

Coben by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Coben was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #2776 29 4
2010s #1896 121 10
2000s #2426 55 8

Geography

Where Coben is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Coben. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Coben ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #669 in 2012.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Coben in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#669 in 2012

2 years of NRS records, 7 total registered

Related

Names similar to Coben

FAQ

Coben: questions and answers

How popular is the name Coben in the UK right now?

In 2024, Coben was ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.

When was Coben most popular?

The peak year on record was 2012, with 16 babies registered as Coben in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Coben?

Son of a chaplain, a variant of the Welsh name "Cowan".

How many people are called Coben in the UK?

A total of 205 babies have been registered as Coben across the 22 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 7 more in Scotland.

Where is Coben most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Coben ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #669 in 2012. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.