Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland and IrelandClarke coat of arms, family crest and family history". irishsurnames.com. Retrieved 30 December 2007. 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. 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, including placing fourteenth in Scotland.
According to the 1990 United States census, Clark was the twenty-first most frequently encountered surname, accounting for 0.23% of the population.United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files/dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 2021-07-27. According to the 2010 United States census, Clark was the thirtieth most frequent surname, with a count of 562,679.United States Census Bureau (October 8, 2021). . Retrieved on 2025-02-11
Disambiguation pages Andrew Clark (disambiguation) Anne Clark (disambiguation) Brian Clark (disambiguation) Bud Clark (disambiguation) Cameron Clark (disambiguation) Charles Clark (disambiguation) Chris Clark (disambiguation) Clive Clark (disambiguation) Colin Clark (disambiguation) Dave Clark (disambiguation) David Clark (disambiguation) Dick Clark (disambiguation) Douglas Clark (disambiguation) Edward Clark (disambiguation) Eugene Clark (disambiguation) George Clark (disambiguation) Gregory Clark (disambiguation) Jack Clark (disambiguation) James Clark (disambiguation) Jason Clark (disambiguation) Jeff Clark (disambiguation) Jim Clark (disambiguation) John Clark (disambiguation) Jonathan Clark (disambiguation) Jordan Clark (disambiguation) Joseph Clark (disambiguation) Kate Clark (disambiguation) Ken Clark (disambiguation) Kenneth Clark (disambiguation) Lee Clark (disambiguation) Mary Clark (disambiguation) Max Clark (disambiguation) Paul Clark (disambiguation) Peter Clark (disambiguation) Robert Clark (disambiguation) Ryan Clark (disambiguation) Sally Clark (disambiguation) Samuel Clark (disambiguation) Simon Clark (disambiguation) Stephen Clark (disambiguation) Terry Clark (disambiguation) Thomas Clark (disambiguation) William Clark (disambiguation)
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 Cheryl Clark (born 1973), American singer, Electric Slide (Shall We Dance) additional vocals 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 ), 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 (), 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