The Kowal surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,337 people carried this name — #7,658 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 68,000 people counted. That is up 1% from 4,290 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Kowal surname
From Polish kowal (“smith”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kowal» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
16,833 people named Kowal have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 18,362 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 Argentina’s national register
At least 257 people named Kowal 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 254 people named Kowal.
111 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 35 départements, most often Meurthe-et-Moselle.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 42 people named Kowal 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
26 people named Kowal live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
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 the Nordic population registers
51 people named Kowal is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
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).
In print
Kowal in American newspapers,
1890–1961.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,467 pages in all carry the name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Kowal.
- Kouyate 344 · U.S. census
- Kouyoumdjian 275 · U.S. census
- Kovac 2,795 · U.S. census
- Kovacevic 1,256 · U.S. census
- Kovacic 975 · U.S. census
- Kovacs 9,072 · 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
- Koza 1,469 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kowal 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.