Cohen is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley; he studied theoretical computer science. His real name is David 'S.' Cohen. He used that name when he worked on The Simpsons (1989), but when he starting working on Futurama (1999), he joined the Writer's Guild (the TV writer's union). When he registered, there was already a David S. Cohen, and the union does not allow members to register with the same name. Cohen chose the letter X for his middle initial because he felt it was more 'sci-fi-ish.'