Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland,[2] ultimately derived from the Latin clericus meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated. Clark evolved from "clerk". First records of the name are found in 12th-century England. The name has many variants.[3]
 A scribe or clerk, the occupation from which the name derives | |
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Old English |
| Meaning | Clerk, scribe, secretary |
| Region of origin | England |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Clarke, Clerk |
| Frequency Comparisons[1] | |
Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom,[1] including placing fourteenth in Scotland.[4] Clark is also an occasional given name, as in the case of Clark Gable.
According to the 1990 United States Census, Clark was the twenty-first most frequently encountered surname, accounting for 0.23% of the population.[5]
Disambiguation pages
edit- Anne Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Brian Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Cameron Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Charles Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Chris Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Clive Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Colin Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Douglas Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- David Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Dick Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Edward Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Eugene Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- George Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Gregory Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Jack Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- James Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Jason Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Jeff Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Jim Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- John Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Jonathan Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Joseph Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Kate Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Ken Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Kenneth Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Lee Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Mary Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Paul Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Robert Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Ryan Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Sally Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Samuel Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Simon Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Terry Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Thomas Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- William Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
Arts and literature
edit- Alton Dorian Clark (born 1984), better known as American hip-hop musician Dorian
- Andy Clark (musician), British musician
- Ann Clarke (born 1944), Canadian artist
- Annie Erin Clark, better known under her stage name St. Vincent (musician) (born 1982), American singer, songwriter, and musician
- Appleton P. Clark Jr. (1865–1955), American architect
- Blake Clark (born 1946), American actor and stand-up comedian
- Bob Clark (Benjamin "Bob" Clark) (1941–2007), an American director
- Buddy Clark (1911–1949), American singer
- Catherine Clark (born 1976), Canadian television host
- Clark (musician) (born 1979), British musician, who is also known as Chris Clark
- Christian Clark (born 1978), Australian actor
- Claudine Clark (born 1941), American R&B singer and performer of the 1962 hit record "Party Lights"
- Cora Mildred Maris Clark (1885–1967), New Zealand hockey player and nurse
- Dave Clark (musician) (born 1939), English drummer of The Dave Clark Five
- Dorothy Park Clark (1899–1983), American novelist who wrote under the pen name Clark McMeekin
- Dodie Clark (born 1995), English musician, YouTuber, and author
- Donté Clark, American poet, actor
- Ernest Clark (1912–1994), British actor
- Florence Anderson Clark (1835–1918), American author, newspaper editor, librarian, university dean
- Guy Clark (1941–2016), American musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer
- Harriet E. Clark (1850–1945), American teacher and author
- Helen Taggart Clark (1849–1918), American journalist, poet
- Hilda Margery Clarke (1926–2022), English painter and curator
- Jean Clark (artist) (1902–1999), English artist
- Joseph Benwell Clark (1857–1938), English artist
- Joshua Clark, (born 1980), American writer
- Ken Clark (actor), (1921–2009), American actor
- Laura Lee Clark (born 1964), American interior designer
- Leah Clark, American voice actor
- Libby Clark (?-2012), American journalist
- Louis Clark (1947–2021), musician and conductor with The Orchestra (successor band to ELO and ELO Part II)
- Petula Clark (born 1932), British singer, actress, and songwriter
- Robin Clark (pop singer), (born 1949), 1960s American pop singer
- Roy Clark (1933–2018), American singer and musician
- Spencer Treat Clark (born 1987), American actor
- Stephen R. L. Clark (born 1945), English philosopher
- Steve Clark (1960–1991), British guitarist for Def Leppard
- Tom Clark (journalist), Canadian television journalist
- Vicky A. Clark, American art curator
- Vinnie B. Clark (1878–1971), American educator and author
- Wallis Clark (1882–1961), English actor
- William Clark (artist) (1803–1883), Scottish artist
Business
edit- Allen George Clark (1898–1962), British businessman
- Arnold Clark (1927–2017), Scottish businessman
- Hilda Clark (model) (1872–1932), American Coca-Cola advertising spokesperson
- Jonas Gilman Clark (1815–1900), American businessman and the founder of Clark University
- Lance Clark (1936–2018), English businessman, of the shoe retailers Clarks
- Myron Henry Clark (1881–1953), American management consultant
- Shawn M. Clark (born c. 1964), American organizational theorist
Politics and law
edit- Abraham Clark (1725–1794), American politician and Revolutionary War figure
- Alan Clark (1928–1999), British Conservative politician and author, son of Kenneth Clark
- Alistair Clark, Lord Clark (fl. 2016), Scottish judge, senator of the College of Justice
- Augusta Clark (1932–2013), American librarian, lawyer and politician
- Barbara M. Clark (1939–2016), New York politician
- Benjamin S. W. Clark (1829–1912), a New York politician
- Billy J. Clark (1778–1866), a New York physician and politician
- Boyd A. Clark (1918–1978), an American politician and jurist
- Chantelle Nickson-Clark, American politician
- Darius Clark (1798–1871), New York physician and politician
- Frank M. Clark (1915–2003), American Congressman
- Gavin Brown Clark (1846–1930), MP for Caithness
- Greenleaf Clark (1835–1904), American jurist
- Helen Clark (born 1950), prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008
- Horace Clark (assemblyman), 1830s New York politician
- Horace F. Clark (1815–1873), US Congressman from New York
- Isabella Clark (1809–1857), wife of Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald
- Janet H. Clark (born 1941), Minnesota politician
- Joe Clark (born 1939), former prime minister of Canada
- Karen Clark (politician) (born 1945), American politician from Minnesota
- Katy Clark (born 1967), Scottish politician and trade union official
- Kelly Clark (lawyer) (1957–2013), American lawyer
- Marcia Clark (born 1953), American lawyer and author
- Maureen Harding Clark (born 1946), Irish jurist
- Newcomb Clark (1840–1913), Michigan politician
- Orville Clark (1801–1862), New York politician
- Ramsey Clark (1927–2021), US attorney general and activist
- Rita Clark (1915–2008), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Satterlee Clark, American politician
- Septima Poinsette Clark (1898–1987), American educator and voting registration leader
- Sir Terence Clark (born 1934), British retired diplomat and writer
- Tom C. Clark (1899–1977), US attorney general, U.S. Supreme Court justice
- Zenas Clark (1795–1864), New York politician
Science and medicine
edit- Adam Clark, American meteorologist
- Benjamin Preston Clark (1860–1939), an American entomologist
- Bracy Clark (1771–1860), English veterinary surgeon specialising in the horse
- Cynthia Clark (born 1942), American statistician
- Daniel Kinnear Clark (1822–1896), Scottish railway mechanical engineer
- Duncan W. Clark (1910–2007), American public health specialist
- Gerry Clark (1927–1999), New Zealand sailor and ornithologist
- Grahame Clark (1907–1995), British archaeologist
- Hamlet Clark (1823–1867), English entomologist
- Hilda Clark (doctor) (1881–1955), Quaker physician and humanitarian
- Hubert Lyman Clark (1870–1947), American zoologist
- Jeanne Clark, American internist and physician-scientist
- Judson Freeman Clark (1870–1942), Canadian forester and mycologist
- Kara Clark, American wind turbine researcher
- Leslie J. Clark (1924–2003), British engineer and founder of Parvalux
- Lynn G. Clark (born 1956), American botanist
- Noel A. Clark (born 1940), American physicist
- Wilfrid Le Gros Clark (1895–1971), British palaeoanthropologist
Sports
edit- Alysha Clark (born 1987), American-Israeli basketball player
- Babe Clark, American football player
- Bobby Clark (footballer, born 2005)
- Caitlin Clark (born 2002), American basketball player
- Calum Clark (born 1989), English rugby union player
- Carmel Clark (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer
- Chuck Clark (born 1995), American football player
- Chuck Clark (ice hockey) (1891–1970), British-born Canadian ice hockey player
- Ciaran Clark (born 1989), Irish football player
- Corrie Clark (born 1982), American breaststroke swimmer
- Dallas Clark, American football player
- Damone Clark (born 2000), American football player
- Daniel Clark (born 1988), British basketball player
- Darion Clark (born 1994), American football player
- Duncan Clark (athlete) (1915–2003), Scottish hammer thrower
- Dwight Clark (1957–2018), American football player
- Earl Clark, American basketball player
- Elky Clark (1898–1956), Scottish boxer of the 1920s
- Emily Clark (born 1995), Canadian ice hockey player
- Frank Clark (footballer), English football player
- Ginger Clark (1879–1943), American baseball pitcher
- Glenn Clark (born 1969), Canadian coach of Toronto Rock
- Hannah Clark (born 1990), English cricketer
- Hudson Clark (born 2001), American football player
- Jaylen Clark (born 2001), American basketball player
- Jeremy Clark (defensive back) (born 1994), American football player
- Jerrod Clark (born 1999), American football player
- Kei'Trel Clark (born 2001), American football player
- Kelly Clark (born 1983), American snowboarder
- Kihei Clark (born 2000), American–Filipino basketball player
- Le'Raven Clark (born 1993), American football player
- Leon Clark (basketball), American basketball player
- Ocky Clark (born 1960), American middle-distance runner
- Otey Clark (1915–2010), American baseball pitcher
- R. Foster Clark, American college sports coach
- Ranza Clark (born 1961), Canadian middle-distance runner
- Roger Clark (rally driver), British rally driver
- Sherm Clark (1899–1980), American Olympic rower and rear admiral
- Stuart Clark (born 1975), Australian cricketer
- Wendel Clark (born 1966), retired Canadian ice hockey player
- Will Clark (born 1964), American baseball player
- Zoey Clark (born 1994), British sprinter
Other
edit- Alice Clark (historian) (1874–1934), English suffragist and historian
- Annie W. Clark (1843–1907), American social reformer
- Alister Clark (1864–1949), Australian rose-breeder
- Clark Olofsson (born 1947), Swedish criminal
- Davis Wasgatt Clark (1812–1871), American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
- Felton Grandison Clark (1903–1970), African-American university president
- Graham Clark (tenor) (1941–2023) English tenor
- Harold M. Clark (1890–1919), American army major
- Hugh Massey Clark (1886–1956), New York philatelist
- Hulda Regehr Clark, (1928–2009), alternative medicine practitioner
- Joseph Samuel Clark (1871–1944), African-American university president
- Manning Clark (1915–1991), Australian historian
- Mark W. Clark (1896–1984), American army general in World War 2 (Italy) and the Korean War
- Nada Hazel Clark (1922–1964), New Zealand trade unionist
- Nancy B. Clark, Massachusetts philatelist, president of Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum
- R. Scott Clark (born 1961) American seminary professor
- Theresa Mathilde Clark (c. 1890–1953), New York philatelist, spouse of Hugh Massey Clark
- Wesley Clark (born 1944), American army general in the Vietnam War and Kosovo
- Carlos Clark Van Leer (1865–1953), American military officer
Fictional characters
edit- David Clark, a character in the 2013 American crime comedy movie We're the Millers
- John Clark (Tom Clancy character), character in Tom Clancy's Ryanverse
- Lea Clark, American Girl character, "Girl of the Year" for 2016
- Tracy Clark, fictional character from The CW primetime drama 90210
- Clark Kent, secret identity of DC Superhero Superman
- Clark Griswold, fictional character from National Lampoon's Vacation film series.
See also
edit- The Clark Sisters, American gospel vocalists from Detroit
- Clark (TV series), Swedish TV drama series produced by Netflix
- Clark (taxonomic authority)
- Justice Clark (disambiguation)
- Karen Clark Sheard (born 1960), American Grammy Award-winning singer
- Clark Virgil Smith, Black Labrador Retriever owned by Samantha Smith
References
edit- ^ a b "Clark Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution". Forebears.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ Clarke coat of arms, family crest and family history". irishsurnames.com. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
- ^ "Surname Clark". Surnamedb.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ "100 Most Common Surnames | National Records of Scotland". Nrscotland.gov.uk. 2014-09-25. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files/dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 2021-07-27.
External links
edit- Clark(e) Surname DNA Project
Data related to Clark at Wikispecies
This page lists people with the surname Clark.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.