This surname is derived from an official title. 'the clerk,' i.e. the clergyman, a clerk in holy orders. Middle English clerk, a priest. The surname is now almost universally Clark and Clarke, the professional form adhering to clerk; compare the silent agreement between tailor and Taylor. If Clark and Clarke be considered as one name, they stand ninth among the commonest surnames to be found in England.

Boniface Clericus, Lincolnshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Thomas le Clerk, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Batekyn Clericus, Essex, ibid.

Gilbert le Clerk, Oxfordshire, ibid.

Thomas le Clerck, Buckinghamshire, ibid.

John le Clerck, Bedfordshire, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Robertus Clarke, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Beatrix Clerc, 1379: ibid.

Henricus Clerk, 1379: ibid.

Robertus Clerk' et Johanna uxor ejus, 1379: ibid.

Agnes Clerk, 1379: ibid.

1557. Married — Robert Clarke and Margaret Mayson: St. Dionis Backchurch.

1583. Baptised — Richarde, s. Rumboll Clerke: St. James, Clerkenwell.

Originally a man in a religious order, and later a scholar, a penman, in early charters Latinized clericus. Roger clericus held a land between 1174—78 (Kelso, 383), and Thomas clericus was one of those appointed in 1246 to determine the right marches of Wester Fedale (LAC., 23). James the clerk was witness to a charter by Richard de Bancori of land in Dumfriesshire, a. 1249 (Bain, I, 1684), and Alan clericus was charter witness in Aberdeen, 1281 (REA., II, p. 279) Nine persons named 'le clerk,' rendered homage for their possessions, 1296 (Bain, II). In the fourteenth and following centuries the name was quite common throughout the Lowlands and is found in all old Scots charters and public documents, and only after 1400 do we feel certain that the word is truly a surname. John Clerc possessed a tenement in Edinburgh, 1400 (Egidii, p. 37), Adam Clark or Clerk was burgess of Dundee, 1406 (REB., I, 25; II, 12), and Hugh Clerk and Alan Clerk were burgesses of Irvine, 1418 (Irvine, l, p. 27) John Clerk of Leith, shipmaster, had a safe conduct into England, 1446 (Bain, IV, 1186). Robert Clerk took part in the second hership of Petty, 1513 (Rose, p. 190), Johannes Clark was prior of Scone, 1524 (Scon, p. 204), and Angus the clerk, a follower of Donald Gorme of Sleat, had remission in 1541 for his part in laying waste Trouterness in Sky and Kenlochew in Ross (RSS., II, 3943). Richard Clark, a native of Montrose, became vice-admiral of Sweden and presented a brass chandelier to the parish church of his native town, 1623. Hans Clerck, of a different family, rose to be an admiral in the same service. The name still exists in Sweden and Finland in the form Klerck. The word was borrowed into Gaelic and gave origin to the surname Mac II chleirich. Claerk 1547. George Rogers Clark (1752—1818), to whom is due the possession of the territory northwest of the Ohio, 1783, was of Scottish descent.

(Anglo-French-Latin-Greek) Clergyman, Scholar, Clerk [Middle English clerk(e, Old English cleric, and O.F. clerc, Latin cleric -us, Greek κληρικ-ός] A clerk ther was of Oxenford also That unto logyk hadde longe y-go . . .

For he hadde geten hym yet no benefice, Ne was so worldly for to have office . . . Of studie took he moost cure and moost heede, Noght o word spak he moore than was neede.—Chaucer, Cant. Tales, A 285, &c.

The kyng called a clerk, Kan [know] I noght his name, To take Mede the. maide And maken hire at ese.—Piers Plowman, 1360-3.

Cp. Clark(e.

Latin clericus. French Le Clerc. A learned person-that is, one who could in old times read and write-accomplishments not so rare, after all, as we are sometimes induced to think, since this is among the commonest of surnames. Clark stands 27th and Clarke 39th in the Registrar General's comparative list: and for 33,557 Smiths registered within a given period, there were 12,229 Clarks and Clarkes. Thus for every three hammermen we have at least one ' ready writer.' If the Reg. General had reckoned Clark and Clarke as one name, it would have stood ninth in point of numerousness. As a surname, Clarke appears frequently to have aliased some other appellative; for instance the baronet family, C. of Salford, originally Woodchurch, from the parish of that name in Kent, soon after the Conquest became Clarkes (Le Clerc) in consequence of a marriage with an heiress, and the family for some generations wrote themselves "Woodchurch alias Le Clerc," and vice versa, until at length the territorial appellation succumbed to the professional one, which was right, for

Clerk, a clergyman, a scholar, one who can read and write.

Clark,Clarke. —Universally distributed over England, but most numerous in its centre. Absent in Wales, and scarce in most of the counties on the Welsh border. Not frequent in most of the south - west great counties. Best represented in Bucks, Essex, Leicestershire, Rutlandshire, and Notts. As in the counties of Notts and Shropshire, it would sometimes appear that the terminal e signifies a transference from the Trade to the Court Directory. Clark is found over a large part of Scotland, but is rare in the northern part.

Clarke is an occupational name, coming from the Old English ‘clerec’ or ‘clerc’ and the Old French ‘clerc’, both of which originate from the Latin ‘clericus’.

The earliest Clarks were often clerics, ie clergymen or others in religious orders. In the Middle Ages literacy was largely confined to those in the Church, so most writing and secretarial work (including recording deaths, births, taxes and wills) was done by clerics or clergy.

As literacy grew and names became hereditary, the surname came to mean a scribe or administrative assistant who could draw up required papers. Thus did both the professional name ‘clerk’ and the surname Clarke catch on and endure.

Besides the obvious Clarkson (and the related Clarson) save in minor spelling alterations there are few variations of the name. The ‘er’ version, as in Clerke, is the more original version of the name. The ‘er’ often changed to ‘ar'. A modern example is the way we pronounce Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Derbyshire. This change was fairly common. Other examples: ‘varmint’ (from the original ‘vermin’) and ‘varsity’ (from university).

The earliest mention of the name Clark is found in the Domesday Book for Hampshire. Here the records for 1086 mention one Richard Clericus.

One of the most notorious royal mistresses of all time was Mary Anne Clarke (1776—1852). She became mistress to Frederick, Duke of York, George III’s second son. Frederick was Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and Mary Anne used her position to secure promotion for several friends, accepting large bribes for her services.

The ‘Trumpet Voluntary’ is often mistakenly attributed to Purcell. In fact, it was composed by Jeremiah Clarke (1674— 1707).

The only man to have won all 25 Grand Prix in the World Motor Racing Championship is James (Jim) Clark (1936— 68). This he accomplished in 1965, breaking Fangio’s record of 24. Clark died tragically in an accident at the Hockenheim circuit in West Germany.

During 1940 Colonel William Fredman and Harry Lawrence Clark managed to break the Japanese secret code. The code­breaker they created was nicknamed ‘Magic’ and it intercepted messages showing that the Japanese were planning to attack. Unfortunately, they were unable to discover the exact location of the attack-Pearl Harbor.

The first overland trip across the continent of North America set off in 1804 and was led by Captain Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and Lt William Clark (1770-1838), who acted as mapmaker and artist.

Clarkston is the only United Kingdom town with this name. However, throughout the Commonwealth the name Clark and variations on it are common both as town names and as names of geographic features. Clark’s Harbour in Nova Scotia and Clark’s Town in Jamaica are two examples. Some 21 towns and cities in the US are Clark-related.

With about 164,000 namesakes, Clarke is the 34th most popular surname in England and Wales while Clark accounts for another 136,000. In combination this makes the name the 8th most popular in the area. In Scotland about 25,000 Clarks makes this the 13th most popular name. Clark(e) is notably popular in and around Leicester where an estimated one in about 215 families bears the name. In descending numerical order other strongholds of one spelling or the other are Coventry, Nottingham, and Birmingham. Around the world Clarks and Clarkes are most common in Auckland (one in 238 families), Wellington (one in 292) and Melbourne (one in 336). In the United States there are an estimated 576,000 Clarks and 68,000 Clarkes, in combination making this the country’s 15th most popular surname.