Kowalchuk

Kowalchuk or Kovalchuk is a common Slavic surname. The Kowalchuk name extends back to before 1500 AD in the Kievan Rus Empire.

Kowal (or more correctly Ковал, "Koval"), literally translates as “forge”, and was commonly used to describe a blacksmith (Blacksmith is direct translation of the name from the Ukrainian.) The suffix “-chuk” (or -chuck or -czyk) denoted either the son of, or an apprentice to the blacksmith. It is somewhat similar in commonality to English surname "Smith".

In East Slavic Languages, the correct pronunciation would be KO-val-chook, but for those living the West, for example Ukrainian Canadians, the pronunciation ko-WAL-chuk is more common. The Polish form is Kowalczyk.

People

*Anna Kovalchuk, Russian actress
*Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian professional ice hockey player
*Irina Kovalchuk, Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast from the Deriugins School
*Mikhail Kovalchuk, Scientific Secretary of the Council for Science and High Technologies attached to the President of the Russian Federation
*Travis Kowalchuk, Canadian gay rights activist
*Yuriy Kovalchuk, Russian businessman, head of the Board of Directors of the Russia bank
*Peter Kowalchuk, Pastor and founder of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Caracas (Venezuela)
*Brett Kowalchuk, Liberal Party, representative for Brandon-Souris

See also

*Kowal
*Kowalski
*Kowalczyk
*Smith (surname)
*Kovalenko
*Koval
*Kovaliuk
*Kovalets