The Clark surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 562,679 people carried this name — #27 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 524 people counted. That is up 3% from 548,369 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Clark surname
An English and Scottish surname originating as an occupation for a scribe, secretary, or cleric.
From Old English clerc (“clergyman; learned man”), whence also clerk.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Clark» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,142 people named Clark live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
274 people named Clark live in Switzerland.
They live in 18 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 236 people named Clark.
Most of them — 134 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 29 départements, most often French Polynesia.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
88 people named Clark have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 269 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 50 people named Clark live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
373 people named Clark are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Clark in American newspapers,
1854–1912.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,168,477 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Clark,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Abraham Clark 1726–1794 · lawyer -
William Clark 1770–1838 · naturalist -
James Clark 1779–1839 · judge -
Archibald Clark 1805–1875 · politician -
Ambrose W. Clark 1810–1887 · judge
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 142 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Clark.
- Claire 1,253 · U.S. census
- Clar 320 · U.S. census
- Clara 1,099 · U.S. census
- Clare 4,309 · U.S. census
- Clarey 911 · U.S. census
- Clarin 604 · U.S. census
- Clarke 68,281 · U.S. census
- Claro 1,051 · U.S. census
- Clary 11,139 · U.S. census
- Classen 1,900 · U.S. census
- Claud 601 · U.S. census
- Claude 2,033 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Clark is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.