Clark
 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 an English language surname, 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.[2]
Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom,[1] including placing fourteenth in Scotland.[3] 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.[4] Notable people with the surname include:
Disambiguation pages
- 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
- Edward Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- David Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Dick Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Eugene Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- George 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
- Ken Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Kenneth Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Mary Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Robert Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Ryan Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Samuel Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Simon Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- Thomas Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
- William Clark (disambiguation), multiple people
Arts and literature
- Alton Dorian Clark (born 1984), better known as American hip-hop musician Dorian
- Andy Clark, British musician
- Anne 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
- Bob Clark (Benjamin "Bob" Clark) (1941–2007), an American director
- Buddy Clark (1911–1949), American singer
- Catherine Clark (born 1976), Canadian television host
- Chris Clark (born 1979), British musician, known by the mononym "Clark"
- Christian Clark (born 1979), Australian actor
- Claudine Clark, 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 (born 1942), 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
- Helen Taggart Clark (1849–?), American journalist, poet
- Hilda Margery Clarke (born 1926), English painter and curator
- Jean Clark (1902–1999), English artist
- Joshua Clark, (born 1980), American writer
- Ken Clark, (1921–2009), American actor
- Laura Lee Clark (born 1964), American interior designer
- Libby Clark, ( ? - 2012), American journalist
- Louis Clark, musician and conductor with The Orchestra (successor band to ELO and ELO Part II)
- Robin Clark, (born 1949), 1960s American pop singer
- Roy Clark (1933–2018), American singer and musician
- Spencer T. Clark (born 1987), American actor
- Stephen R. L. Clark (born 1945), English philosopher
- Steve Clark (1960–1991), British guitarist for Def Leppard
- Tom Clark, 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
- Hilda Clark (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 ca 1964), American organizational theorist
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
- 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
- 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
- Joe Clark (born 1939), former Prime Minister of Canada
- Karen Clark (born 1945), American politician from Minnesota
- Katy Clark (born 1967), Scottish politician and trade union official
- Kelly Clark (lawyer) (1957–2013), American lawyer
- Orville Clark (1801–1862), New York politician
- Ramsey Clark (born 1927), US Attorney General and activist
- Satterlee Clark, Jr., American politician
- 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
- Adam Clark, American meteorologist
- Benjamin Preston Clark (1860-1939), an American entomologist
- Bracy Clark (1771–1860), an 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 (1881-1955), Quaker physician and humanitarian
- Hubert Lyman Clark (1870-1947), American zoologist
- 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
- Alysha Clark (born 1987), American-Israeli basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association
- Babe Clark, American football player
- Carmel Clark (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer
- Chuck Clark (born 1995), American football player
- Chuck Clark (1891–1970), British-born Canadian ice hockey player
- Corrie Clark (born 1982), American breaststroke swimmer
- Dallas Clark, American football 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
- 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
- Jeremy Clark (defensive back) (born 1994), 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, American basketball player
- Ocky Clark (born 1960), American middle distance runner
- Otey Clark (born 1915), American baseball pitcher
- R. Foster Clark, American college sports coach
- Ranza Clark (born 1961), Canadian middle distance runner
- Roger Clark, 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
Other
- Alice Clark (1874–1934), English suffragist and historian
- Alister Clark (1864–1949), Australian rose-breeder
- Davis Wasgatt Clark (1812–1871), American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
- Felton Grandison Clark (1903-1970), African-American university president
- 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 Wayne Clark (1896–1984), American army general in WW2 (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 Maria Clark (c. 1890–1953), New York philatelist, spouse of Hugh Massey Clark
- Wesley K. Clark (born 1944), American army general in the Vietnam War and Kosovo
Fictional characters
- John Clark, character in Tom Clancy's Ryanverse
- 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
- Clark Kent, the civilian identity of cultural icon, Superman
- The Clark Sisters, American gospel vocalists from Detroit
- Clark (taxonomic authority)
- Clarke
- Justice Clark (disambiguation)
- Clerke (disambiguation)
- Karen Clark Sheard (born 1960), American Grammy Award-winning singer
References
- ^ a b "Clark Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution". Forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ "Surname Clark". Surnamedb.com. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ "100 Most Common Surnames | National Records of Scotland". Nrscotland.gov.uk. 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
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.
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.