The Koval surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,855 people carried this name — #6,912 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 60,600 people counted. That is up 6% from 4,578 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Koval surname
From Ukrainian Коваль (Kovalʹ, “blacksmith”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Koval» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 257 people named Koval live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
128 people named Koval have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 7,127 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
117 people named Koval live in Switzerland.
They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 64 people named Koval live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 31 people named Koval.
11 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 départements, most often Loire.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
68 people named Koval are counted in Finland and Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Koval in American newspapers,
1887–1925.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 52,984 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Koval in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.
184 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Koval. The most, 32, date from the 1970s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.9 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Koval.
Who carried it
People named Koval,
with a public archive behind them.
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Iosif Koval 1865– · politician -
Vasil Kaval 1907–1937 · writer -
Leonid Koval 1926–2012 · writer -
Lyudmila Koval 1933–2020 · librarian -
Antonina Koval 1938–2017 · linguist
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Leonid Koval: 7, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); Lyudmila Koval: Коваль Михаил Максимович, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); Antonina Koval: Мария Косогорова, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 102 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Koval,
in the records of 5 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States636 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 244
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 228
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 61
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 54
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 26
- New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 22
- U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record John J. KovalBorn 1905 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Macarthur San Pedro, California; barber. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1993, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Maria KovalArrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Hamburg from Cuxhaven, aged 17; servant. From Hamburg, Hungary.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. war memorial War record Robert Gary KovalBorn 1948; from Fairmont, West Virginia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Pleiku, South Vietnam.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
Showing 3 of 636 records for Koval in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).
France12 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Jean Baptiste Michel KovalBorn 1928 in Montbrison; died 1987 in Montbrison (Loire).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Angela Aniela Angele KovalBorn 1905 in Poland; died 1993 in Descartes (Indre-et-Loire).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Joseph KovalBorn 1918 in Paris; died 1994 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (Val-de-Marne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 3 of 12 records for Koval in France.
Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).
Canada7 records
- City of Winnipeg cemetery records 3
- City of Calgary cemetery records 2
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
- Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
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Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Anna KovalBuried in 1985 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 78.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Olga KovalDied 1917; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. -
Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Philip KovalDied 1945 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
Showing 3 of 7 records for Koval in Canada.
Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).
Australia2 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
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Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Afanasij KovalBuilder's labourer of Ardeer, Victoria; died 1998.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 1 of 2 records for Koval in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).
Netherlands1 record
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Example: U.S. census, 1910 Population register Katarina KovalIn the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1896 in Podolinec.
Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Koval.
- Kouyoumdjian 275 · U.S. census
- Kovac 2,795 · U.S. census
- Kovacevic 1,256 · U.S. census
- Kovach 9,040 · U.S. census
- Kovacic 975 · U.S. census
- Kovacs 9,072 · U.S. census
- Kowal 4,337 · U.S. census
- Kowalczyk 5,615 · U.S. census
- Kowalewski 2,718 · U.S. census
- Kowalik 1,435 · U.S. census
- Kowalska 153 · U.S. census
- Kowalski 18,077 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Koval is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.