# Clark (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/clark/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “clergyman”, “learned man” |
| Pronunciation | /klɑː(ɹ)k/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Clex |
| Variant spellings | Clarke, Clerk, Clerke |
| US babies named this | 51,205 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 50,851 / 354 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,368, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old English clerc (“clergyman; learned man”), whence also clerk.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5 | 17,600 |
| 2011 | 7 | 13,677 |
| 2013 | 12 | 9,155 |
| 2014 | 7 | 13,383 |
| 2015 | 15 | 7,713 |
| 2016 | 16 | 7,336 |
| 2017 | 20 | 6,097 |
| 2018 | 21 | 5,828 |
| 2019 | 22 | 5,652 |
| 2020 | 23 | 5,358 |
| 2021 | 26 | 4,992 |
| 2022 | 16 | 7,050 |
| 2023 | 17 | 6,730 |
| 2024 | 20 | 5,994 |
| 2025 | 18 | 6,373 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 385 | 619 |
| 2012 | 473 | 551 |
| 2013 | 617 | 456 |
| 2014 | 814 | 383 |
| 2015 | 868 | 372 |
| 2016 | 867 | 378 |
| 2017 | 861 | 381 |
| 2018 | 855 | 376 |
| 2019 | 805 | 389 |
| 2020 | 793 | 387 |
| 2021 | 794 | 396 |
| 2022 | 729 | 427 |
| 2023 | 709 | 439 |
| 2024 | 726 | 437 |
| 2025 | 837 | 377 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 37 | 812 |
| 2012 | 47 | 704 |
| 2013 | 72 | 514 |
| 2014 | 118 | 355 |
| 2015 | 101 | 414 |
| 2016 | 119 | 380 |
| 2017 | 114 | 390 |
| 2018 | 92 | 446 |
| 2019 | 80 | 491 |
| 2020 | 64 | 568 |
| 2021 | 45 | 751 |
| 2022 | 44 | 746 |
| 2023 | 39 | 827 |
| 2024 | 33 | 945 |
| 2025 | 38 | 845 |

## In other languages

- Greek: Κλάρκος, Κλαρκ

## People named Clark

- Clark Gable, American actor (1901–1960)
- James Clark Ross, British explorer and naval officer (1800–1862)
- Clark Gregg, American actor, screenwriter and director (born 1962)
- Clark Ashton Smith, American author (1893-1961)
- Clark L. Hull, American psychologist (1884–1952)
- Clark Terry, American swing and bebop trumpeter (1920–2015)
- Clark Duke, American actor
- Clark Johnson, American-Canadian actor and director
- Clark Clifford, American secretary of defense (1906-1998)
- Clark Spencer, American film producer
- Clark Smith, American swimmer
- Clark Wissler, American anthropologist (1870–1947)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.