# Kowal (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kowal/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Polish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Polish |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,337 |
| US rank (2010) | 7,658 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 71,189 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.1% (4,290 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Koval, Kowall |

## Etymology

From Polish kowal (“smith”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kowal in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 96% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Similar surnames

Kohl, Koll, Kelly, Kelley, Kyle, Keel, Kiley, Keil, Kuhl, Keeley, Kahl, Kile.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.