Kovalchuk
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