Kowalski

For a song by Primal Scream, see Kowalski (song).
Look up Kowalski or Kowalska in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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 "Average Joe", much as "John Smith" is used in English-speaking countries (though a more direct translation would be "John Smithson").

  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.