Clarke
Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from Latin clericus. Variants include Clerk[1] and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name.
Irish surname origin
Clarke is a popular surname in Ireland. The Irish version of the surname is believed to have come from County Galway and County Antrim and spread to County Donegal and County Dublin. The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic sept Ó Cléirigh, meaning "clerk".[2]
English surname origin
Clarke as well as Clark is also a widespread surname in England. The English version is of Anglo-Saxon origin and was used in the Middle Ages for the name of a scribe or secretary. The word "clerc", which came from the pre 7th century Olde English "Cler(e)c" (meaning priest), originally denoted a member of a religious order but later became widespread. In the Middle Ages, virtually the only people who could read and write were members of religious orders, linking the word with literacy. Thus the surname became a popular term for a literate man, particularly for the professional secretary and the scholar.[3] The English surnames "Clarke" and "Clark" are both spelling variations of the surname "Clerk".
'Nobby' is the nickname most commonly used in English for those with the surname Clark or Clarke.[citation needed]
People with the surname
- A. Clarke, English cricketer
- Adam Clarke (1760–1832), British biblical scholar
- Adline Clarke, American politician
- A. E. Clarke, Victorian architect
- Alan Clarke (1935–1990), British TV and film director
- Alf Clarke (1926—1971), English footballer
- Allan Clarke (footballer) (born 1946), English footballer
- Alexander Ross Clarke, British geodesist
- Ann Clarke, British immunologist
- Anne Clarke (born 1806), Australian theater pioneer
- Anne Clarke (born 1961), Irish theatre producer
- Arianna Clarke (born 1999), Australian rules footballer
- Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), author (2001: A Space Odyssey); inventor of geostationary communication satellites and the space elevator; wrote Clarke's three "laws" of prediction
- Ashley Clarke (1903–1994), British ambassador to Italy, founder of the Venice in Peril Fund
- Austin Clarke (poet) (1896–1974), Irish poet
- Sir Basil Clarke (1879–1947), public relations, diplomat, newspaper war correspondent
- Bertie Clarke, West Indian cricketer
- Bethia Clarke (1867–1959), British artist
- Billy Clarke, Irish footballer
- Bob Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Bobbie Clarke, British rock drummer
- Bobby Clarke (born 1949), Canadian ice hockey player
- Brian Clarke (born 1953), British architectural artist and painter
- Brandon Clarke (born 1996), Canadian basketball player
- Bruce B. G. Clarke, retired US Army officer, author and consultant
- Bruce C. Clarke, American General
- Buck Clarke (1933–1988), American jazz percussionist
- C. Clarke (1837 English cricketer), English cricketer
- C. Clarke (Sheffield cricketer), English cricketer
- Caitlin Clarke (1952–2004), American actress
- Cam Clarke (born 1957), American voice actor
- Sir Campbell Clarke (1835–1902), British journalist
- Carter Clarke (born c. 1928), American Brigadier General; founder of Gemesis Corporation
- Catherine Clarke, British historian
- Cecil Vandepeer Clarke (1897–1961), British soldier and inventor
- Charles Clarke (born 1950), British politician, Home Secretary
- Chris Clarke, Canadian boxer
- Chris Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Chris Clarke (politician) (d. 2009), politician
- Clem S. Clarke (1897–1967), American oilman and politician
- Cyril Clarke (1907–2000), English physician and medical researcher
- Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer
- David Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Dean Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Don Clarke (1933–2002), New Zealand Rugby Union player
- Donald Clarke, American
- Donald C. Clarke, American law professor
- Dora Clarke (1895–1989), English artist
- Doug Clarke (1934–2019), English footballer
- Doug Clarke (Australian footballer) (born 1938), Australian rules footballer
- Douglas Clarke (born 1948), Danish-born English cricketer
- Douglas Clarke (conductor) (1893–1962), English organist, conductor and academic
- Drew Clarke, Australian public servant
- Eddie Clarke (1950–2018), British guitarist and podcaster
- Edith Clarke (1883–1959), American electrical engineer and professor
- Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
- Edward Daniel Clarke, (1769–1822) English clergyman, naturalist, mineralogist, and traveller
- Edwin Clarke, (1919–1996) English neurologist and medical historian
- Ellis Clarke, lawyer, diplomat, Governor General, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
- Emilia Clarke (born 1986), English actress
- Ernest Clarke (1856–1923), English historian of agriculture
- Francis Clarke (1856–1927), Australian politician
- Frank L. Clarke (b. 1933), Australian business economist
- Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, American geochemist
- George Johnson Clarke (1857–1917), Premier of New Brunswick
- George L. Clarke (1813–1890), 10th Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island
- Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet
- Goland Vanhalt Clarke, British Army brigadier-general, big game hunter, naturalist
- Gordon Luke Clarke (born 1945), New Zealand-born 1970s fashion designer
- Harold Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Harry Clarke (1889–1931), Irish stained glass artist and illustrator
- Harry Clarke (footballer, born 1923), played for Tottenham Hotspur
- Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke (1765–1818), Franco-Irish general under Napoleon I
- Helen Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Henry Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Horace Clarke (born 1940), Virgin Islander Major League Baseball player
- Hyde Clarke (1815–1895), English engineer, philologist and author
- Ian Clarke (born 1977), Irish computer scientist
- Jacob Augustus Lockhart Clarke, British neurologist
- James Clarke, British composer
- Jason Clarke (born 1969), Australian actor
- Jay Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Justine Clarke, Australian actress and singer
- Jennie Thornley Clarke (c. 1866–?), American educator, writer, anthologist
- Jennifer Ward Clarke (1935–2015), British cellist
- Jeremiah Clarke (1674–1707), English baroque composer
- Jeremy Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- John Clarke (dean of Salisbury) (1682–1757), English philosopher, mathematician, and translator; younger brother of Samuel Clarke
- John Cooper Clarke (born 1949), British performance poet
- John Henry Clarke (1853–1931), English homeopath
- John Mason Clarke (1857–1925), American paleontologist, geologist and teacher
- John Clarke (satirist) (1948–2017), New Zealand–Australian satirist and actor
- Katie Rose Clarke (born 1984), American musical theatre actress
- Kathleen Clarke (1878–1972), Irish political activist
- Kenneth Clarke (born 1940), British politician; Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Lydia Clarke (1923–2018), American actress and photographer
- Malcolm Clarke (disambiguation), multiple people
- Marcus Clarke (1846–1881), Australian novelist (For the Term of his Natural Life)
- Mary Bassett Clarke (1831–1908), American writer
- Mary H. Gray Clarke (1835–1992), American writer
- Matthew Clarke, Australian rules footballer
- Matthew Clarke, footballer who has played for Darlington F.C. and Bradford City A.F.C.
- Matt Clarke, former football goalkeeper
- Matthew Clarke, Lord Clarke, Scottish judge
- Mother Mary Frances Clarke, B.V.M., founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Maura Clarke (1931–1980), American nun, martyr, killed in El Salvador
- Maurice Gordon Clarke, American football and baseball player and coach
- Michael Clarke (cricketer) (born 1981), Australian Test cricketer
- Mitch Clarke (born 1985), Canadian mixed martial artist
- Nancy Clarke (entrepreneur) (died 1811 or 1812), Barbadian hotelier and free woman of colour
- Naomi Clarke, (born 1982), New Zealand soccer player
- Nevelle Clarke (born 1996), American football player
- Nig Clarke (1882–1949), American baseball player
- Nobby Clarke (footballer) (1907–1981), English footballer
- Noel Clarke, (born 1975), English actor, director and screenwriter
- Patrick Clarke, (born 1965), Irish actor, director, producer and screenwriter
- Pauline Clarke (1921–2013), English writer
- Peter Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Philip Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Powhatan Henry Clarke (1862–1893), United States Army First Lieutenant, recipient of the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars
- Ralph Clarke (mayor) (died 1660), mayor of Chesterfield, 1598
- Rebecca Helferich Clarke (1886–1979), English chamber string music composer
- Rebecca Sophia Clarke (1833–1906), American author of children's fiction
- Richard A. Clarke (born 1951), American expert in counter-terrorism
- Richard W. B. Clarke, British civil servant
- Richard Clarke, Jamaican boxer of the 1980s and '90s
- Richard Clarke (frontiersman) (1845–1930), English frontiersman and scout in the United States; inspiration for character Deadwood Dick
- Richard Clarke, (died 1634), English preacher
- Robert Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Roger Clarke, English rugby union administrator
- Rotnei Clarke (born 1989), American basketball player
- Rozlyne Clarke, dance music singer
- Samuel Clarke (1675–1729), English philosopher
- Sharon D. Clarke (born 1966), English actress and singer
- Sidney Clarke (1831–1909), American politician
- Stanley Clarke (born 1951), American double bass and bass guitar musician
- Stephen Clarke (journalist and novelist) (born 1958), British
- Stephen Clarke (swimmer) (born 1973), British-born, competed for Canada
- Steve Clarke (born 1963), Scottish footballer, assistant manager
- Susanna Clarke (born 1959), British novelist (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell)
- Sylvester Clarke, (1954–1999), former West Indian cricketer
- Terrel E. Clarke (1920–1997), American businessman and politician
- Theo Clarke, British Member of Parliament elected 2019
- Theophilus Clarke, English painter
- Tom Clarke, English footballer
- Tom Clarke (Irish republican) (1857–1916), executed for his part in the 1916 Rising
- Troy Clarke (disambiguation), several people
- Vince Clarke (born 1960), British musician with the band Erasure
- Wayne Clarke (broadcaster) (born 1961), British Christian minister
- William Francis Clarke (1816–1890), American Roman Catholic Jesuit priest and educator
- Yvette D. Clarke (born 21 November 1964), American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives
Fictional characters
- Christian Clarke, character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Linda Clarke, character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Roger Clarke, character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Isaac Clarke, main character of the Dead Space series
- Clarke Griffin, main character of The 100
- Shane Clarke, character from the Power Rangers Ninja Storm
References
- ^ "Last name: Clerk". Surname Database. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Clarke coat of arms, family crest and family history". irishsurnames.com. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
- ^ "Last name: Clarke". Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
This page lists people with the surname Clarke.
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.