Kovalchuk (Ukrainian and Russian: Ковальчук), Kavalchuk (Belarusian: Кавальчук), Kowalczuk (Polish), Covalciuc (Moldovan/Romanian), also transliterated as Kowalchuk (in the North American diaspora), is a common East Slavic surname (one of the most popular in Ukraine).[1] The Kovalchuk name extends back to before 1500 AD in Kievan Rus.
Koval (Коваль) literally translates as forge or blacksmith. The suffix -chuk denoted either a son of, or an apprentice to a blacksmith. It is somewhat similar in commonality to English surname Smith. It is also cognate with very popular Polish surnames Kowalczyk and Kowalski.
In East Slavic languages, the correct pronunciation is ko-vahl-CHOOK. Among Ukrainian Canadians, the pronunciation ko-WAL-chuk is more common.
People
Kovalchuk
- Andrey Kovalchuk (born 1959), Russian sculptor
- Andriy Kovalchuk (born 1972), Ukrainian general
- Anna Kovalchuk (born 1977), Russian actress
- Boris Kovalchuk (born 1977), Russian official, son of Yury Kovalchuk
- Ekaterina Kovalchuk (born 1990), Belarusian footballer
- Ilya Kovalchuk (born 1983), Russian ice hockey player
- Kyrylo Kovalchuk (born 1986), Ukrainian footballer
- Mikhail Kovalchuk (born 1946), Russian physicist and politician
- Oleksii Kovalchuk (born 1989), Ukrainian poker player
- Olga Kovalchuk (born 1976), Ukrainian Paralympic sport shooter
- Petro Kovalchuk (born 1984), Ukrainian footballer
- Sergey Petrovich Kovalchuk (born 1973), Belarusian footballer
- Tatiana Kovalchuk (born 1979), Ukrainian tennis player
- Victoria Kovalchuk (1954–2021), Ukrainian artist
- Yury Kovalchuk (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 (born 1996), Polish taekwondo practitioner
- Chris Kowalczuk (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 (1921–2000), Canadian politician
- Serghei Covalciuc (born 1982), Moldovan-Ukrainian footballer
See also
- All pages with titles containing Kovalchuk
- All pages with titles containing Kavalchuk
- All pages with titles containing Kowalczuk
Surnames associated with the occupation of smith | ||
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| From "spark" rel. to occ. 'smith' | ||