Kowalski
A common Polish surname meaning “son of the blacksmith” or “of the blacksmith.”
The #1,999 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,079 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kowalski is built from Polish kowal, meaning “blacksmith,” plus the surname ending -ski. In origin, it would have described someone connected with a blacksmith or a place associated with that occupation, and over time it became a fixed hereditary surname. In many Polish surnames, -ski often came to function as a family-name ending rather than a literal marker of nobility or landownership.
History
The name is one of the best-known Polish surnames and is very common in Poland and among Polish diaspora communities. In English-speaking countries it has often been associated with Polish identity in general, sometimes as a stereotypical “everyman” Polish surname. Anglicized forms and spelling variants can appear in records, especially after migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because kowal means “blacksmith,” Kowalski is one of many European surnames that began as an occupational label for a metalworker.