# Kowalski

Kowalski (Polish pronunciation:; feminine: Kowalska, plural: Kowalscy) is the second most common surname in Poland (140,471 people in 2009). 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
* 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
* 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