Kovacs
Encyclopedia
Kovacs or Kovács, or in its Slavic variant spelling Kovač
, is a common family name
. (There are similar names with the Kováts and Kovách form with the same origin.) Kovács means smith
in the Hungarian language
; the word came from Slavonic Kovač, and has the same meaing in some Slavic languages
.
The name translates to the English name Smith
. There are 221,687 people in Hungary who are called Kovács, making the name the second most common family name among Hungarians.
Fictional characters:
Kovac
Kovač , meaning "forger" in Slavic languages and in Hungarian, is a common surname in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia...
, is a common family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
. (There are similar names with the Kováts and Kovách form with the same origin.) Kovács means smith
Smith
Smith may refer to:* Smith antigen* Smith Chart, a diagram used in engineering* Smith grind, a skateboarding trick* Smith machine, a piece of weight training equipment-Persons:* Smith ** List of people with surname Smith...
in the Hungarian language
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
; the word came from Slavonic Kovač, and has the same meaing in some Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
.
The name translates to the English name Smith
Smith (surname)
Smith is an English family name originating in England. It is the most common surname in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the second most common surname in Canada, and the fifth most common surname in Ireland...
. There are 221,687 people in Hungary who are called Kovács, making the name the second most common family name among Hungarians.
- Ágnes KovácsÁgnes KovácsÁgnes Kovács is a former Hungarian swimmer. She won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney in 200 m breaststroke....
(born 1981), Hungarian swimmer - Bill KovacsBill KovacsBill Kovacs was a pioneer of commercial computer animation technology.-Early career:Kovacs received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1971. He worked for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill while getting a Masters of Environmental Design from Yale University...
(1949–2006), American pioneer of commercial computer animation technology - Dan Kovacs (born 1970), American world champion powerlifter
- Edit KovácsEdit KovácsEdit Kovács is a Hungarian fencer, who won three Olympic medals in the foil team competitions. She graduated from the Physical Education College in 1986. She became the senior inspector of the Hungarian Fencing Association, then she was secretary general between 1991 and 2001.-External links:*...
(born 1954), Hungarian fencer - Edit KovácsEdit KovácsEdit Kovács is a Hungarian fencer, who won three Olympic medals in the foil team competitions. She graduated from the Physical Education College in 1986. She became the senior inspector of the Hungarian Fencing Association, then she was secretary general between 1991 and 2001.-External links:*...
(born 1954), Hungarian fencer - Ella KovacsElla KovacsElla Kovacs is a retired Romanian middle distance runner of Hungarian descent. In 1985 she won the European Indoor Championships, and ran 800 metres in 1:55.68 in June. She would achieve prominence on the world scene in 1991, when she won bronze medals in the World Championships indoor and outdoor...
(born 1964), Romanian athlete - Ernie KovacsErnie KovacsErnie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
(1919–1962), American entertainer from the early days of television - Frank KovacsFrank KovacsFrank Kovacs was an American tennis player in the mid-century; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics but was a good enough player to be each year from 1940 to 1951 one of the best five in the world. He stood 6 ft 4 inches tall and had a backhand as good as...
(1919–1990), American tennis player in the 1940s - Fred KovacsFred KovacsFredrich “Fred” Kovacs is a former U.S. soccer player who earned four caps with the U.S. national team in 1972 and 1973.Kovacs gained his first cap in a World Cup qualifier on September 10, 1972. The U.S. lost, 2-1, to Mexico. Kovacs started the game, then came off in the 56th minute for Gary...
, American soccer player - Greg KovacsGreg KovacsGregory Mark Kovacs was a Canadian IFBB professional bodybuilder. According to Canadian bodybuilding publication, Muscle Insider, Kovacs retired from competitive bodybuilding in 2005 to start his own business and coach competitive athletes.-Early life:Kovacs was raised in Fonthill, Ontario, Canada...
(born 1968), American bodybuilder - Iván KovácsIván KovácsIván Kovács is a Hungarian fencer, who has won two Olympic silver medals in the team épée competition.-References:...
(born 1970), Hungarian fencer - János KovácsJános KovácsJános Kovács is a Hungarian footballer who plays for Luton Town as a defender, on loan from Hereford United.-MTK:Born in Budapest, Hungary, Kovács started his career with MTK and made his debut towards the end of the 2003–04 season, playing in a 2–1 defeat against Ferencváros in the Nemzeti...
(born 1985), Hungarian footballer - Joe KovacsJoe KovacsJoe Kovacs is an American puppeteer and actor.Kovacs was born in Independence, Ohio. In 2006 and 2007, Kovacs handled the puppet Madame, including a performance on VH1's I Love the '70s....
(born 1967), American Puppeteer - Kálmán Kovács (doctor), Hungarian-Canadian doctor and researcher
- Kálmán KovácsKálmán KovácsKálmán Kovács is a retired Hungarian football player.He made his debut for the Hungarian national team in 1982, and got 56 caps and 19 goals until 1995...
(born 1965), Hungarian football (soccer) player - Katalin KovácsKatalin KovácsKatalin Kovács is a Hungarian sprint canoer who has competed since 1997. Competing in three Summer Olympics, she won six medals with two golds and four silvers .Kovács also won a record 40 medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships including 31 golds Katalin Kovács (born 29 February 1976...
(born 1976), Hungarian canoer - László Kovács (politician) (born 1939), Hungarian politician and diplomat
- László Kovács (cinematographer)László Kovács (cinematographer)László Kovács, A.S.C. was a Hungarian cinematographer who was influential in the development of American New Wave films. Most famous for his award-winning work on Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, Kovács was the recipient of numerous awards, including three Lifetime Achievement Awards...
(1933–2007), Hungarian-American cinematographer - Magda Kósáné KovácsMagda Kósáné KovácsMagda Kósáné Kovács is a Hungarian politician and a former Member of the European Parliament for the Hungarian Socialist Party, part of the Party of European Socialists....
(born 1940), Hungarian politician and Member of the European Parliament - Pál KovácsPál KovácsPál Kovács was a Hungarian Olympic fencer, who began as a hurdler, but eventually switched to fencing. He was born in Debrecen...
(1912–1995), Hungarian fencer - Péter Kovács (footballer) (born 1978), Hungarian footballer
- Richard KovacsRichard KovacsRichard Kovacs was a physician that pioneered diathermy as a therapy. In 1945, he was lamenting the rapid disappearance of American spas.-Writings:*...
(1885–1950), physician - Rita KovácsRita KovácsRita Kovács is a former long-distance swimmer from Hungary. She represented her home country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in 800 metre freestyle. She also competed in open water swimming, winning several medals....
, Hungarian swimmer - Ştefan Kovacs (1920–1995), Romanian former football manager
- Viktor KovácsViktor KovácsViktor Kovács is a Hungarian sprinter specializing in the 100 metres.He finished seventh with the Hungarian 4 x 100 metres relay team, which consisted of Kovács, Gábor Dobos, Roland Németh and Zsolt Szeglet, at the 1999 World Championships.His personal best time over 100 m is 10.31 seconds,...
(born 1973), Hungarian track and field athlete - George Kovács (born 1956), Founder Ping Kwon Do
- Zsófia KovácsZsófia KovácsZsófia Kovács is a professional Hungarian triathlete, winner of the Hungarian Cup 2010 and member of the National Team....
(born 1988), a Hungarian triathlete
Fictional characters:
- Takeshi KovacsTakeshi KovacsTakeshi Lev Kovacs is the protagonist of the books Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan, which take place several centuries in the future....
, a fictional character in three books by Richard Morgan - Walter Kovacs, the identity of the character RorschachRorschach (comics)Rorschach is a fictional comic book character and antihero that was featured in the acclaimed 1986 DC Comics miniseries Watchmen...
, in the DC Comic series WatchmenWatchmenWatchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form... - Kirilli Kovacs, a character in Darren ShanDarren ShanDarren O'Shaughnessy , who commonly writes under the pen name Darren Shan, is an Irish author. Darren Shan is also the main character in Shan's The Saga of Darren Shan young-adult fiction series. He also wrote The Demonata series as well as the stand-alone books, Koyasan and The Thin Executioner...
's series, The DemonataThe DemonataThe Demonata is a series of books by best selling author Darren Shan. It deals with the world of demons . The series is told by three different protagonists: Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck, and Bec MacConn, the latter of which is the first female protagonist in a Darren Shan book...
.
See also
- KovačKovacKovač , meaning "forger" in Slavic languages and in Hungarian, is a common surname in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia...
(Slavic form) - KowalskiKowalskiKowalski is the second most common surname in Poland . During the previous century it was the most common name. Jan Kowalski are synonymous with John Doe or John Smith in English-speaking countries....
, Kovalski - Kowarz, Kowarzik