Kowalski (Polish pronunciation: [kɔˈvalskʲi]; feminine: Kowalska, plural: Kowalscy) is the second most common surname in Poland (140,471 people in 2009). In January 2026, the Polish register PESEL listed 67,308 women and 66,589 men with the surname. Kowalski surname is derived from the word kowal, meaning "[black]smith".
"Jan Kowalski" is used as a placeholder name in Poland.
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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
Gerry Kowalsky (born 1922), Canadian car salesman
Grzegorz Kowalski (disambiguation)
Henryk Kowalski (1911–1982), Polish violinist and composer
Henryk Kowalski (1933–2021), Polish cyclist
James Kowalski (born 1954), United States Air Force Lieutenant General, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command Barksdale AFB
Janusz Kowalski (cyclist) (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
Marek Daniel Kowalski (born 1966), medievalist
Maria Kowalska, Polish alpine skier
Marian Albertovich Kowalski (1821–1884), Polish astronomer
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)
Włodzimierz Tadeusz Kowalski (1934–1990), historian and screenwriter
Zbigniew Kowalski (1924–1992), Polish mathematician
Zbigniew S. Kowalski (born 1949), Polish mathematician
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