Kowalski

For a song by Primal Scream, see Kowalski (song).

Kowalski (Polish pronunciation: [kɔˈvalskʲi]; feminine: Kowalska, plural: Kowalscy) is the second most common surname in Poland (140,471 people in 2009).^[1] Kowalski surname is derived from the word kowal, meaning "[black]smith".

"Jan Kowalski" is used as a placeholder name in Poland to mean "John Smith", much as "John Doe" is used in English-speaking countries.

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)
• 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^[2][3]
• 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

See also

• Kovalsky
• All pages with titles containing Kowalski
• All pages with titles containing Kowalska

Other uses

• Kowalski's Markets, supermarket chain

References

1. Ministry of Interior (Poland). Statystyka najpopularniejszych nazwisk występujących w Polsce in 2009 Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine (The most popular surnames in Poland in 2009). Retrieved 2013-02-28.
2. "Roxanne (1987)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
3. Maslin, Janet (2007). "Roxanne (1987)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.