The Clements surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 38,044 people carried this name — #908 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,750 people counted. That is up 2% from 37,237 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Clements surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Clement’.

An early record he cites: Eustace fil. Clement, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls. Fil. is Latin for “son of”.

His entry covers Clement, Clementson, Clemans, Clemens, Clemence, Clements, Clemie, Clemitson, Clemmans, Clemments, Clemmison, Clemmits, Clemson and Clemenson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 185 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 25 births for the Clements name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “17 in Antrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 23
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

45 people named Clements live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Aargau 16
Geneva 11
Zurich 10
Obwalden 5
Vaud 3

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 the Nordic population registers

32 people named Clements is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 32

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).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Clements was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland: 17 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 588. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Clement and Clements.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Leicestershire and Rutland 17
South Wales 17
Devon 6

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Clements was recorded 22 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1076th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 31. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

277 families named Clements, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,548 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 20 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 45
New Hampshire 38
Massachusetts 37
Pennsylvania 31
New York 29
North Carolina 28
Virginia 21
South Carolina 18
Maine 10
Connecticut 8
Vermont 7
Rhode Island 5

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Clements in American newspapers,
1890–1930.

Newspaper page from The Guernsey Gazette carrying the name Clements
The Guernsey Gazette 1930-04-18
Newspaper page from The Guernsey Gazette carrying the name Clements
The Guernsey Gazette 1930-05-02
Newspaper page from Deseret Evening News carrying the name Clements
Deseret Evening News 1890-10-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Clements in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

70,511 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Clements. The most, 12,515, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 22,237
Victoria 21,269
Queensland 9,273
South Australia 5,787
Tasmania 5,617
Western Australia 5,199
ACT (Canberra) 956
Northern Territory 58

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Clements.

Who carried it

People named Clements,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Michael Clements d. 1796 · military personnel
  • Helen Clements d. 1934 · painter
  • Caroline Clements d. 1914
  • Mary Katherine Clements d. 1959
  • Theophilus Clements d. 1728
  • Rosalind Clements d. 1948

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Clements,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States3,536 records

3,536 records of the Clements name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,319
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 557
  • Other U.S. records 1,660
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Wayne Douglas Clements

    Born 1947; from Camden, New Jersey. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1968 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Melvin A. Clements

    Born 1899 in Colorado. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; packer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1966, buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Francis C. Clements

    Born 1920 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at New York City; construction worker from Nassau County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1962, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 3,536 records for Clements in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia2,168 records

2,168 records of the Clements name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 976
  • Tasmanian Names Index 465
  • Other Australian records 727
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Adam Clements

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mount Stewart Elphinstone, sailing from London in 1845. Native of Wiltshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Eliza Clements

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hindostan, sailing from London in 1839. Native of Bloomsbury, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Jemima Clements

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Garland Grove, sailing from Woolwich in 1842. Native of Bethnal Green, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,168 records for Clements in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Netherlands1,726 records

1,726 records of the Clements name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 803
  • Dutch population registers 801
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 122
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Remmet Reinder Clements

    Married in 1868 in Maurik; farmer. Died 1899 in Varik, aged 64.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Geertrui Gerrike Clements

    Married in 1890 in Vianen. Died 1934 in Utrecht, aged 62.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Wijntje Clements

    Married in 1933 in Schiedam; born 1906 in Leerdam. Died 1957 in Schiedam, aged 51.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Schiedam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,726 records for Clements in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada758 records

758 records of the Clements name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 623
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 33
  • Other Canadian records 102
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Freeman Clements

    Killed in 1912 at the Dominion No. 12 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Clements

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Caspian, bound for Brantford, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Eric Clements

    Buried in 1918 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 27.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 758 records for Clements in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom141 records

141 records of the Clements name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 80
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 47
  • Other British records 14
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Peter Clements

    Buried in 1945 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 63.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ann Clements

    Buried in 1853 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 63.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Charles Clements

    Will proved in 1906; of Llandudno, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 141 records for Clements in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand61 records

61 records of the Clements name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 55
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Other New Zealand records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Clements

    Died 1932, aged 68; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Clements

    Buried in 1899 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 61.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 61 records for Clements in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Germany5 records

5 records of the Clements name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Otto Clements

    From Leobschütz, Pr. Reported dead in the Bavarian casualty list of 4 July 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 16).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 1 of 5 records for Clements in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

France4 records

4 records of the Clements name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marc Georges Clements

    Born 1959 in Denain; died 1992 in Masnières (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 4 records for Clements in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Clements name in Belgium Belgian church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Clements

    Married in 1805 in Lommel; born in Lommel.

    Open Archives, Stad Lommel - Archiefdienst (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Clements.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Clements.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Clements 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.

See the Clements volume
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