Clark

Clark
	A scribe or clerk, the occupation from which the name derives
Origin
Language	Old English
Meaning	Clerk, scribe, secretary
Region of origin	England
Other names
Variant forms	Clarke, Clerk, O'Cleary, Cleary
	Frequency Comparisons

Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland and Ireland^[2] that is 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". The first records of the name are found in 12th-century England. The name has many variants.^[3] It is often used as the anglicized variant of the Irish O'Cleary or Cleary.

Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom,^[1] including placing fourteenth in Scotland.^[4]

According to the 1990 United States census, Clark was the twenty-first most frequently encountered surname, accounting for 0.23% of the population.^[5] According to the 2010 United States census, Clark was the thirtieth most frequent surname, with a count of 562,679.^[6]

Disambiguation pages

Arts and literature

Alton Dorian Clark (born 1984), better known as American hip-hop musician Dorian
Annie Erin Clark (born 1982), better known as St. Vincent, 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) (1939–2007), American director
Buddy Clark (1911–1949), American singer
Catherine Clark (born 1976), Canadian television host
Christian Clark (born 1978), Australian actor
Christopher Clark (born 1979), British musician performing as Clark and earlier as Chris Clark
Claudine Clark (born 1941), American R&B singer and performer of the 1962 hit record "Party Lights"
Dane Clark (1912–1998), American character actor
Dodie Clark (born 1995), English musician, YouTuber, and author
Donté Clark, American poet, actor
Dorothy Park Clark (1899–1983), American novelist who wrote under the pen name Clark McMeekin
Ernest Clark (1912–1994), British actor
Felicia Buttz Clark (1862–1931), American writer
Florence Anderson Clark (1835–1918), American author, newspaper editor, librarian, university dean
Gladys Clark (1918–2011), Cajun spinner and weaver
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 Clark (soprano) (1872–1932), American soprano, actress, model, and Coca-Cola advertising spokesperson
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 (1917–2012), American journalist
Louis Clark (1947–2021), musician and conductor with The Orchestra (successor band to ELO and ELO Part II)
Marcia Clark (artist) (born 1938), American artist
Maudemarie Clark (born 1945), American philosopher
Petula Clark (born 1932), British singer, actress, and songwriter
Robin Clark, American vocalist
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
Terri Clark (born 1968), Canadian singer
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

Allen George Clark (1898–1962), British businessman
Arnold Clark (1927–2017), Scottish businessman
Daniel Clark Sr. (1732–1800), Irish-American businessman
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
Wilbur Clark (1908–1965), American businessman and owner of hotels and casinos

Politics and law

Abraham Clark (1725–1794), American politician and Revolutionary War figure
Alan Clark (1928–1999), British Conservative politician and author, son of Kenneth Clark
Alice Pollard Clark (born 1940), American jurist
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), New York politician
Billy J. Clark (1778–1866), New York physician and politician
Boyd A. Clark (1918–1978), 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), Canadian politician and government minister, prime minister 1979–1980
Karen Clark (American politician) (1945–2026), politician from Minnesota
Karen Clark (British politician), politician and the mayor of North Tyneside, England
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
Myron H. Clark (1806–1892), governor of New York
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
Ruth H. Clark (1916–2022), American politician
Satterlee Clark, American politician
Septima Poinsette Clark (1898–1987), American educator and voting registration leader
Sir Terence Clark (born 1934), British diplomat and writer
Tom C. Clark (1899–1977), US attorney general, U.S. Supreme Court justice
Valerie Clark, American politician
Wilson Hart Clark (1820–1887), American politician and lawyer from Connecticut
Zenas Clark (1795–1864), New York politician

Science and medicine

Adam Clark, American meteorologist
Benjamin Preston Clark (1860–1939), 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), British Quaker physician and humanitarian
Hubert Lyman Clark (1870–1947), American zoologist
Jeanne Clark, American internist and physician-scientist
John F. Clark (engineer) (1920–?), American engineer and NASA director
Judson Freeman Clark (1870–1942), Canadian forester and mycologist
Judy MacArthur Clark, British veterinarian
Kara Clark, American wind turbine researcher
Leslie J. Clark (1924–2003), British engineer, 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

Alijah Clark (born 2003), American football player
Alysha Clark (born 1987), American-Israeli basketball player
Babe Clark, American football player
Bobby Clark (footballer, born 2005), English footballer
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
Clarence Clark (1859–1937), American tennis player
Cora Mildred Maris Clark (1885–1967), New Zealand hockey player and nurse
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 (born 1988), American basketball player
Elky Clark (1898–1956), Scottish boxer of the 1920s
Emily Clark (born 1995), Canadian ice hockey player
Erin Clark (born 1997), New Zealand and Samoa rugby 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
Jacob Clark (born 2000), American football player
Jaylen Clark (born 2001), American basketball player
Jenna Clark (born 2001), Scottish footballer
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
Lex Clark (1943–2025), New Zealand rower
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), Canadian ice hockey player
Will Clark (born 1964), American baseball player
Zoey Clark (born 1994), British sprinter

Other

Alice Clark (historian) (1874–1934), English suffragist and historian
Alister Clark (1864–1949), Australian rose-breeder
Annie W. Clark (1843–1907), American social reformer
Carlos Clark Van Leer (1865–1953), American military officer
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
Hadden Clark (born 1952), American serial killer
Harold M. Clark (1890–1919), American army major
Hugh Massey Clark (1886–1956), New York philatelist
Hulda Regehr Clark, (1928–2009), Canadian 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
Zammis Clark (born 1994), British computer security specialist convicted of computer hacking

Fictional characters

Clark Griswold, fictional character from National Lampoon's Vacation film series
Clark Kent, secret identity of DC Superhero Superman
David Clark, 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 (90210), fictional character from The CW primetime drama 90210

References

1 2 "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.
↑ United States Census Bureau (October 8, 2021). . Retrieved on 2025-02-11

External links

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.

[BRE-1] 1 2 "Clark Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution". Forebears.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2017-06-14.

[2] Clarke coat of arms, family crest and family history". irishsurnames.com. Retrieved 30 December 2007.

[3] "Surname Clark". Surnamedb.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2008-02-05.

[4] "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.

[5] United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files/dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 2021-07-27.

[6] United States Census Bureau (October 8, 2021). . Retrieved on 2025-02-11

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v t e Surnames associated with the occupation of clerk or scribe
Germanic	Clark, Clarke, Clarkson, Clerk, Clerke, De Clerck Klerk/Klerck Schreber, Schreiber, Schriever, Schrijver, Schriver, Scribe, Scrivener, Scriver, Shriver
Romance	Clerc, Leclerc, Leclercq Escribá, Escrivá, Scriba, Skriba
Slavic	Pisar Pisarek / Pissarek Pisarev Pisarenko Pisarcik Písařík Pysarchuk

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