Talk:Kowalski


 * Importance = high: this is predicated on the statement in the article that 'Kowalski' is the 2nd most common surname in Poland, albeit without supporting citation. --User:Ceyockey ( talk to me ) 02:04, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Whilst the etymological links from the blacksmith Kowal to the surname Kowalski seem straightforward, I would like to place another issue in the public domain for comment. The word kowal is also related to the french word cheval - perhaps through the actions of farrying - and we know that cheval relates to our word Cavalier or the Spanish Cabalero - which has the meaning Gentleman. May this not be more in keeping with the use of the suffix ski?134.220.201.37 12:25, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

other slavic languages
Isnt't Kowalski (or a cognate) also a family name in Czech or Slovak? I think I heard some very similar family name in people coming from over there. If it was, it should be mentioned. Mountolive  deny, deflect, detonate 22:31, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

senseless lie in the article
There is something like that: "Kowalski translates to smith's son, as it is the patronymic form of the Polish equivalent of Smith, "Kowal" (see the Polish surname Kowal and the Ukrainian surname Koval)." which is not true at all, suffix -ski doesn't mean "a son of". It is adjective, as in victor-ious In polish language patronymic form has suffix -icz, ycz or -yc (alike to russian) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.190.169.73 (talk) 19:00, 2 June 2018 (UTC)

John Doe
"Jan Kowalski (and Jan Nowak) are synonymous with John Doe or John Smith in English-speaking countries." I have doubts about accuracy of this statement. "Jan Kowalski", is an exemplary name used when speaking of random, ordinary, statistical citizen - someone like American "Joe the Plumber". However the certain person, whose identity is unknown, cannot be refered to as "Jan Kowalski".

Examples:

1. If a man was found unconscious on the street without any documents, he wouldn't be signed in to a hospital as "Jan Kowalski" or "Jan Nowak". Hospital workers would rather use "n/n", an acronym for "nazwisko nieznane", literally meaning "name unknown".

2. "Bearing the actual name John Doe can cause difficulty, such as being stopped by airport security or suspected of being an incognito celebrity." Those kind of situations couldn't occur to Jan Kowalski or Jan Nowak in Poland. Those are valid and common names.

3. In his campaign, a politician could say: "Uczynimy życie prostszym dla Jana Kowalskiego", meaning "We will make life easier for Jan Kowalski". This is an example of correct usage. "Jan Kowalski" - an ordinary, statistical citizen, like "Joe the Plumber". Does the sentence "We will make life easier for John Doe" make the same sense?

Content Additions

 * Roxanne Kowalski - Daryl Hannah's character in Roxanne, the 1987 remake of Cyrano de Bergerac (play) with Steve Martin  added by the Elder Delp (talk) 02:12, 23 May 2010 (UTC)

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