 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, O'Cleary, Cleary |
| Frequency Comparisons [1] | |
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". 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 Irish O'Cleary, Cleary.
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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] According to the 2010 United States Census, Clark was the thirtieth most frequent surname, with a count of 562,679. [6]
