Question
Is there a way I can check from someone’s last name if they are a Cohen (a member of the priestly Jewish tribe)? Where can I find that out?
Answer
The short answer is no. There are many names that are much much more common among Cohanim like the name Cohen, Katz, Kagan, Kahana, Azulai and quite a few more but there are non-Cohanim who have these names as well (there are even non-Jews with these last names. In Europe it was common to “borrow” a last name to help get out of the draft and there are Cohanim that married women which they were not allowed to marry thus rendering their offspring non-Cohanim according to Jewish marital law.
All the best,
Rabbi Benyowitz