Kovtun (Ukrainian: Ковтун) is a Ukrainian gender-neutral surname derived from the Slavic word for the hair appearance called Polish plait, as a nickname for a person with unkempt hair, "mophead".
The Polish form of the surname is Kołtun; the difference is due to the linguistic phenomenon of L-vocalization.
In Russian language the surname retains its Ukrainian form, "Kovtun", although the hair style is "koltun" in Russian.
Notable people with the surname include: