Kovalchuk ( Ukrainian and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Ковальчук), Kavalchuk (), Kowalczuk (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

), Covalciuc (Romanian), also transliterated as Kowalchuk (in the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

), is a common East Slavic surname (one of the most popular in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

).Популярні призвища та імена України
/ref> The Kovalchuk name extends back to before 1500 AD in

Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

. ''Koval'' (Коваль) literally translates as ''

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

'' or ''

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

''. The suffix ''-chuk'' denoted either a son of, or an apprentice to a blacksmith. It is somewhat similar in commonality to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

surname

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

. It is also cognate with very popular Polish surnames

Kowalczyk Kowalczyk is the fifth most common surname in Poland (98,739 people in 2009). Ministry of Interior (Poland). Statystyka najpopularniejszych nazwisk występujących w Polsce in 2009'' (The most popular surnames in Poland in 2009). The name comes ...

and

Kowalski Kowalski (; 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 " lackmith". " Jan Kowalski" is used as a placeholder name ...

. In

East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of the Slavic languages, distinct from the West Slavic languages, West and South Slavic languages. East Slavic languages are currently spoken natively throughout Eastern Europe, ...

, the correct

pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. To This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or all language in a specific dialect—"correct" or "standard" pronunciation—or si ...

is ko-vahl-CHOOK. Among

Ukrainian Canadian Ukrainian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born people who immigrated to Canada. In the late 19th century, the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in the east coast of Canada. They were primarily farmers and l ...

s, the pronunciation ko-WAL-chuk is more common.

People

Kovalchuk

Andrey Kovalchuk Andrey Nikolayevich Kovalchuk (; b. 7 September 1959 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian sculptor. He holds the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation (awarded in 2003) and is the winner of the Moscow City Hall Prize for Literatur ...

(born 1959), Russian sculptor *

Andrii Kovalchuk Major-General Andrii Trokhymovych Kovalchuk (; born 28 April 1974) is a Ukrainian military officer. He graduated from a military academy in 1997 and joined the Ukrainian army. He served in Ukraine and on deployment as a peacekeeper to the Uni ...

(born 1972), Ukrainian general *

Anna Kovalchuk Anna Leonidovna Kovalchuk (; born 15 June 1977) is a Russian actress known for her roles in film, television, and theater. She gained widespread recognition for her performances in popular Russian television series and the critically acclaimed ...

(born 1977), Russian actress *

Boris Kovalchuk Boris Yuryevich Kovalchuk (; born 1 December 1977) is a Russian official who has served as Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of Russia since 2024. He is a son of Yury Kovalchuk. Since April 20, 2006, he has led the Department of the Russian Govern ...

(born 1977), Russian official, son of Yury Kovalchuk * Ekaterina Kovalchuk (born 1990), Belarusian footballer *

Ilya Kovalchuk Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger. He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals in ...

(born 1983), Russian ice hockey player *

Kyrylo Kovalchuk Kyrylo Kovalchuk (; ; born 11 June 1986) is a Ukrainian former professional footballer. Career Kovalchuk made his debut in the Russian Premier League for FC Tom Tomsk on 19 July 2009 in a game against FC Khimki. In February 2017, Kovalchuk sig ...

(born 1986), Ukrainian footballer * Maria Kovalchuk, Ukrainian model and victim of human trafficking in Dubai * Mikhail Kovalchuk (born 1946), Russian physicist and politician *

Oleksii Kovalchuk Oleksii Kovalchuk (born 18 September 1989) is a professional poker player from Ukraine who won the 2011 World Series of Poker $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed event, earning $689,739 and also winning the 2012 World Series of Poker $2,500 Omaha ...

(born 1989), Ukrainian poker player *

Olga Kovalchuk Olga Kovalchuk is a Ukrainian Paralympic sport shooter. She represented Ukraine at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and she won the silver medal in the women's 10 metre air pistol SH1 event in 2016. References ...

(born 1976), Ukrainian Paralympic sport shooter * Petro Kovalchuk (born 1984), Ukrainian footballer * Sergey Petrovich Kovalchuk (born 1973), Belarusian footballer *

Tatiana Kovalchuk Tatiana Kovalchuk (born 24 July 1979) is a former professional tennis player from Ukraine. Biography Kovalchuk was 16 years of age when she began playing Fed Cup tennis for Ukraine in 1996. In the same year she started on the ITF circuit and had ...

(born 1979), Ukrainian tennis player * Victoria Kovalchuk (1954–2021), Ukrainian artist *

Yury Kovalchuk Yury Valentinovich Kovalchuk (; born 25 July 1951) is a Russian billionaire businessman and financier who is "reputed to be Vladimir Putin's personal banker". The Panama Papers leak revealed that Kovalchuk had transferred at least $1 billion to ...

(born 1951), Russian businessman and financier

Kavalchuk

* Aksana Kavalchuk (born 1979), Belarusian volleyball player * Maksim Kavalchuk (born 2000), Belarusian footballer * Syarhey Kavalchuk (born 1978), Belarusian footballer

Kowalczuk

Aleksandra Kowalczuk Aleksandra Kowalczuk (born 18 December 1996) is a Polish taekwondo practitioner. She is the 2018 European heavyweight champion as she won the gold medal at the 2018 European Taekwondo Championships on the +73 kg weight category beating the ...

(born 1996), Polish taekwondo practitioner *

Chris Kowalczuk Chris Kowalczuk (born January 17, 1985) is a Canadian football guard who last played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on April 22, 2010.https://www ...

(born 1985), Canadian football player * Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk (born 1967), German historian and author * Jadwiga Kowalczuk (1931–1998), Polish athlete

Other

* Ed Kowalchuk (1926–2003), Canadian politician *

John Russell Kowalchuk John Russell Kowalchuk (August 30, 1921 – August 18, 2000) was an educator, businessman, farmer and political figure in Saskatchewan. He represented Melville from 1967 to 1982 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a New Democrati ...

(1921–2000), Canadian politician * Serghei Covalciuc (born 1982), Moldovan-Ukrainian footballer

References