Kowalski

Kowalski (feminine: Kowalska, plural: Kowalscy) is the second most common surname in Poland (140,471 people in 2009). Kowalski surname is derived from the word kowal, meaning "[black]smith".

"Jan Kowalski" is used as a placeholder name in Poland to mean "Average Joe", much as "John Smith" is used in English-speaking countries (though a more direct translation would be "John Smithson").

Notable people

 * Alexander Kowalski (1902–1940), Polish ice hockey player killed in the Katyn massacre
 * Aleksander Kowalski (1930–2009), Polish Nordic combined skier
 * Alexander Kowalski (musician) (born 1978), German DJ, electronic music artist
 * Alfred Kowalski (1849–1915), Polish painter
 * Annette Kowalski (born 1936), American producer, business partner of Bob Ross
 * Bernard Louis Kowalski (1929–2007), American director
 * Bronisława Kowalska (1955–2020), Polish politician
 * Chana Kowalska (1899-1942), Polish Jewish painter and journalist
 * Craig Kowalski (born 1981), American ice hockey player
 * Daniel Kowalski (born 1975), Australian Olympic swimmer
 * Faustyna Kowalska (1905–1938), Polish Catholic saint, nun and mystic
 * Frank Kowalski (1907–1974), American US Army soldier and United States Representative
 * Gary A. Kowalski (born 1953), American author
 * Grzegorz Kowalski (disambiguation)
 * James Kowalski (born 1954), United States Air Force Lieutenant General, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command Barksdale AFB
 * Janusz Kowalski (born 1952), Polish cyclist
 * Jerzy Kowalski (disambiguation)
 * Jochen Kowalski (born 1954), German singer
 * John Kowalski (born c. 1951), American soccer coach
 * Józef Kowalski (1900–2013), Polish supercentenarian and second-to-last Polish-Soviet war veteran
 * Józef Kowalski (1911–1942), Polish Roman Catholic priest killed at Auschwitz, beatified
 * Józef Wierusz-Kowalski (1866–1927), Polish physicist and diplomat
 * Kasia Kowalska (born 1973), Polish pop rock singer and songwriter
 * Katarzyna Kowalska (born 1985), Polish long distance runner
 * Kazimierz Kowalski, Polish singer
 * Ken Kowalski (born 1945), Canadian politician
 * Kerstin Kowalski (born 1976), German rower
 * Ludwik Kowalski (born 1931), Polish-American nuclear physicist and professor emeritus
 * Łukasz Kowalski, Polish footballer
 * Manja Kowalski (born 1976), German rower
 * Lech Kowalski (born 1951), American film director
 * Maria Kowalska, Polish alpine skier
 * Marian Albertovich Kowalski (1821–1884), Polish astronomer
 * Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), Catholic saint
 * Myron Kowalsky (1941–2022), Canadian politician
 * Natalia Kowalska (born 1989), Polish racing driver
 * Natalia Kowalska (1918–unknown), Polish chess master
 * Piotr Kowalski (1927-2004), French-Polish artist
 * Richard Kowalski (born 1963), American astronomer
 * Robert Kowalski (born 1941), British logician
 * Sharon Kowalski, subject of groundbreaking disability and LGBT legal rights case
 * Tadeusz Kowalski (1889–1948), Polish orientalist, expert on Middle East Muslim culture and languages
 * Thomas Schmidt-Kowalski (1949–2013), German composer
 * Wacław Kowalski, Polish actor
 * William Kowalski (born 1970), American author
 * Wladek Kowalski (AKA "Killer" Kowalski) (1926–2008), Polish-Canadian professional wrestler, trainer
 * Władysław Kowalski (politician) (1894–1958), Polish trade union activist, writer and politician (PSL, ZSL)
 * Yelizaveta Kovalskaya (1851–1943), Russian revolutionary
 * Stanisław Kowalski (1910–2022), Polish supercentenarian masters athlete.

Fictional characters

 * Kowalski, character in the 1991 parody film Hot Shots!, played by Kristy Swanson
 * Kowalski, main character in the 1971 film Vanishing Point, played by Barry Newman
 * Kowalski, character in the PlayStation 2 game Syphon Filter 2
 * Kowalski, character in Madagascar and the TV series The Penguins of Madagascar
 * Mr Kowalski, original owner of Kowalski's, Rosie Duncan's florist store in the novel Fairytale of New York
 * Mrs. Kowalski, Miriam Margolyes' character in the film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
 * Baby Kowalski, supporting character in The Ren & Stimpy Show
 * Benjamin "Ben" Kowalski in the comic series Templar, Arizona
 * Major Charles Kawalsky, a character in the science fiction movie Stargate and subsequent television series Stargate SG-1
 * Dick Kowalsky, character in the French animated series Funky Cops (2003)
 * Felix Kawalski, character in the British television series EastEnders
 * Jacob Kowalski, Dan Fogler's character in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
 * Joe Kowalski, character in SIGMA Force book series by author James Rollins
 * Kitty Kowalski, Lex Luthor's companion in 2006 film Superman Returns, played by Parker Posey
 * Leon Kowalski, character in the 1982 film Blade Runner played by Brion James
 * Matt Kowalsky, George Clooney's character in the movie Gravity
 * Peter "Petey" Kowalski in the video game Bully
 * Private Kowalski, character in the video game Fallout: New Vegas
 * Roch Kowalski, character in Sienkiewicz's novel With Fire and Sword
 * Roxanne Kowalski, Daryl Hannah's character in Roxanne, the 1987 remake of Cyrano de Bergerac with Steve Martin
 * Seaman Kowalski, crewman assigned aboard the submarine SSRN Seaview, on the 1964–68 TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, played by Del Monroe
 * Sergei Kowalski, the titular character in the Spaghetti Western The Mercenary, played by Franco Nero.
 * Sgt. Kowalski, character in Raising Arizona
 * Sgt. Kowalski, character in video game Call of Duty 3
 * Sophie Kowalski, Marion Cotillard's character in the 2005 French film Jeux d'Enfants, also known by its English title, Love Me If You Dare
 * Stanley and Stella Kowalski, characters in the Pulitzer Prize–winning play by Tennessee Williams and 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire
 * Detective Stanley Kowalski, character in the 1994–1999 television series Due South (named after the above Streetcar character)
 * Steve Kowalski, character in the 2007 film Devil's Diary
 * Viktor Kowalski, member of the OAS in The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
 * Walt Kowalski, protagonist of the 2008 film Gran Torino played by Clint Eastwood
 * Meryl Lee Kowalski, character in the Gary D. Schmidt book The Wednesday Wars

Other uses

 * Kowalski's Markets, supermarket chain