Jankowski
A Polish surname meaning “of Janko” or “from Janków,” usually pointing to a family link with a man named Jan or to a place-name based on that name.
The #3,964 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,420 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jankowski is a Polish surname built from the personal name Janko, a diminutive of Jan, the Polish form of John. The ending -owski typically means “belonging to” or “coming from,” so the name most often meant either “son/family of Janko” or “person from Janków/Jankowo,” places named from the same root. In practice, Polish surnames with -owski can be both patronymic and locational in origin.
History
The name is strongly associated with Poland and the wider Polish diaspora. Like many Polish surnames in -owski, it became hereditary over time and was later carried abroad through migration, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries. In English-speaking countries it is commonly preserved in its Polish spelling, though pronunciation often varies.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Jan is the Polish equivalent of John, Jankowski is ultimately part of the same large surname family as many “Johnson” surnames in other languages.