Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, 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 Irish O'Cleary, Cleary.

Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom,

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

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)
  • 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)
  • 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, better known under her stage name St. Vincent (musician) (born 1982), 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
  • Clark (musician) (born 1979), British musician, who is also known 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
  • Dave Clark (musician) (born 1939), English drummer of The Dave Clark Five
  • 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

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), 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
  • 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), former prime minister of Canada
  • Karen Clark (born 1945), American politician from Minnesota
  • Karen Clark, British 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
  • Satterlee Clark, American politician
  • Septima Poinsette Clark (1898–1987), American educator and voting registration leader
  • Sir Terence Clark (born 1934), British retired diplomat and writer
  • Tom C. Clark (1899–1977), US attorney general, U.S. Supreme Court justice
  • 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), an 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), 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 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

  • 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)
  • 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 1993) sailor, cadet class world champion
  • 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
  • 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<!--US-born; American father, Filipino mother-->
  • 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), retired 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), 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 (–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 former Malwarebytes employee and suspected hacker

Fictional characters

  • Clark Griswold, fictional character from National Lampoon's Vacation film series.
  • Clark Kent, secret identity of DC Superhero Superman
  • David Clark, a 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

See also

  • Clark (taxonomic authority)
  • Clark (TV series), Swedish TV drama series produced by Netflix
  • Clark Virgil Smith, Black Labrador Retriever owned by Samantha Smith
  • Justice Clark (disambiguation)
  • Karen Clark Sheard (born 1960), American Grammy Award-winning singer
  • The Clark Sisters, American gospel vocalists from Detroit

References

  • Clark(e) Surname DNA Project