Clarke
Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin clericus. Variants include Clerk[1] and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name.
Irish surname origin[]
Clarke is a popular surname in Ireland. The Irish version of the surname is believed to have come from County Galway and County Antrim and spread to County Donegal and County Dublin. The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic sept Ó Cléirigh, meaning "clerk".[2]
English surname origin[]
Clarke, as well as Clark, is also a widespread surname in England. The English version is of Anglo-Saxon origin and was used in the Middle Ages for the name of a scribe or secretary. The word "clerc", which came from the pre-7th century Old English "Cler(e)c" (meaning priest), originally denoted a member of a religious order, but later became widespread. In the Middle Ages, virtually the only people who could read and write were members of religious orders, linking the word with literacy. Thus the surname became a popular term for a literate man, particularly for the professional secretary and the scholar.[3] The English surnames "Clarke" and "Clark" are both spelling variations of the surname "Clerk".
People with the surname[]
- A. Clarke (Leicestershire cricketer), English cricketer
- Adam Clarke (1760–1832), British biblical scholar
- Adline Clarke, American politician
- A. E. Clarke, architect working in Australia from the 1890s
- Alan Clarke (1935–1990), British TV and film director
- Alf Clarke (1926–1971), English footballer
- Allan Clarke (footballer) (born 1946), English footballer
- Alexander Ross Clarke (1828–1914), British geodesist
- Ann or Anne Clarke (disambiguation)
- Arianna Clarke (born 1999), Australian rules footballer
- Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), English science-fiction author, futurist, inventor and undersea explorer
- Ashley Clarke (1903–1994), British ambassador to Italy, founder of the Venice in Peril Fund
- Austin Clarke (poet) (1896–1974), Irish poet
- Basil Clarke (1879–1947), British writer and newspaper war correspondent
- Bertie Clarke (1918–1993), West Indian cricketer
- Bethia Clarke (1867–1959), British artist
- Bill or Billy Clarke - see William Clarke (disambiguation)
- Bob Clarke (disambiguation)
- Bobbie Clarke (1940–2014), British rock drummer
- Bobby Clarke (born 1949), Canadian ice hockey player
- Brian Clarke (born 1953), British architectural artist and painter
- Brandon Clarke (born 1996), Canadian basketball player
- Bruce B. G. Clarke (born 1943), US Army officer, author and consultant
- Bruce C. Clarke (1901–1988), American general
- Buck Clarke (1933–1988), American jazz percussionist
- C. Clarke (1837 English cricketer), English cricketer
- C. Clarke (Sheffield cricketer), English cricketer
- Caitlin Clarke (1952–2004), American actress
- Cam Clarke (born 1957), American voice actor
- Campbell Clarke (1835–1902), British journalist
- Carter Clarke (1896–1987), American brigadier general
- Catherine Clarke, British historian
- Catherine Goddard Clarke (1900–1968), American Catholic writer and religious community founder
- Cecil Vandepeer Clarke (1897–1961), British soldier and inventor
- Charles Clarke (disambiguation)
- Chris Clarke (disambiguation)
- Clem S. Clarke (1897–1967), American oilman and politician
- Coty Clarke (born 1992), American basketball player in the Israeli National League
- Cyril Clarke (1907–2000), English physician and medical researcher
- Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer
- David Clarke (disambiguation)
- Dean Clarke (disambiguation)
- Don or Donald Clarke (disambiguation)
- Dora Clarke (1895–1989), English artist
- Doug or Douglas Clarke (disambiguation)
- Drew Clarke, Australian public servant
- Eddie Clarke (musician) (1950–2018), British guitarist and podcaster
- Edith Clarke (1883–1959), American electrical engineer and professor
- Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
- Edward Clarke (disambiguation)
- Edwin Clarke (1919–1996), British neurologist and medical historian
- Ellis Clarke, lawyer, diplomat, Governor General, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
- Emilia Clarke (born 1986), English actress
- Ernest Clarke (1856–1923), English historian of agriculture
- Eva Clarke (born 1945), British-Czech Holocaust survivor
- Frank Clarke (disambiguation), also Francis and Franklin
- George Clarke (disambiguation)
- Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet
- Goland Vanhalt Clarke, British Army brigadier-general, big game hunter, naturalist
- Gordon Luke Clarke (born 1945), New Zealand-born 1970s fashion designer
- Harold Clarke (disambiguation)
- Harry Clarke (disambiguation)
- Helen Clarke (disambiguation)
- Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke (1765–1818), Franco-Irish general under Napoleon I
- Henry Clarke (disambiguation)
- Horace Clarke (born 1940–2020), Virgin Islander Major League Baseball player
- Hyde Clarke (1815–1895), English engineer, philologist and author
- Ian Clarke (disambiguation)
- Jacob Augustus Lockhart Clarke, British neurologist
- James Clarke (disambiguation), also Jim Clarke
- Jason Clarke (born 1969), Australian actor
- Jay Clarke (disambiguation)
- Justine Clarke, Australian actress and singer
- Jennie Thornley Clarke (c. 1866–?), American educator, writer, anthologist
- Jennifer Ward Clarke (1935–2015), British cellist
- Jeremiah Clarke (1674–1707), English baroque composer
- Jeremy Clarke (disambiguation)
- John Clarke (disambiguation)
- Katie Rose Clarke (born 1984), American musical theatre actress
- Kathleen Clarke (1878–1972), Irish political activist
- Kenneth Clarke (born 1940), British politician; Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Lennox Clarke (born 1991), English professional boxer
- Luther W. Clarke (1825–1869), American politician
- Lydia Clarke (1923–2018), American actress and photographer
- Malcolm Clarke (disambiguation)
- Marcus Clarke (1846–1881), Australian novelist
- Mary Clarke (disambiguation)
- Matthew Clarke (disambiguation), also Matt Clarke
- Mary Frances Clarke, Irish-American founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Maura Clarke (1931–1980), American nun, martyr, killed in El Salvador
- Maurice Gordon Clarke, American football and baseball player and coach
- Michael Clarke (disambiguation), also Mike Clarke
- Mitch Clarke (born 1985), Canadian mixed martial artist
- Mitch Clarke (basketball) (born 1999), Australian basketball player
- Nancy Clarke (entrepreneur) (died 1811 or 1812), Barbadian hotelier and free woman of colour
- Naomi Clarke, (born 1982), New Zealand soccer player
- Nevelle Clarke (born 1996), American football player
- Nig Clarke (1882–1949), American baseball player
- Nobby Clarke (1907–1981), English footballer
- Noel Clarke, (born 1975), British actor, director and screenwriter
- Patrick Clarke, (born 1965), Irish actor, director, producer and screenwriter
- Pauline Clarke (1921–2013), British writer
- Peter Clarke (disambiguation)
- Philip Clarke (disambiguation)
- Powhatan Henry Clarke (1862–1893), United States Army first lieutenant, recipient of the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars
- Ralph Clarke (mayor) (died 1660), mayor of Chesterfield, 1598
- Rebecca Clarke (disambiguation)
- Richard Clarke (disambiguation)
- Robert Clarke (disambiguation)
- Roger Clarke (disambiguation)
- Rotnei Clarke (born 1989), American basketball player
- Rozlyne Clarke, Australian make-up artist, musical theatre actor and dance music singer
- Ryan Clarke (disambiguation)
- Samuel Clarke (disambiguation)
- Sharon D. Clarke (born 1966), English actress and singer
- Sidney Clarke (1831–1909), American politician
- Stanley Clarke (born 1951), American double bass and bass guitar musician
- Stephen or Steve Clarke - see Stephen Clark (disambiguation)
- Susanna Clarke (born 1959), British novelist (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell)
- Sylvester Clarke, (1954–1999), West Indian cricketer
- Terrel E. Clarke (1920–1997), American businessman and politician
- Theo Clarke, British Member of Parliament elected 2019
- Theophilus Clarke, English painter
- Tom or Thomas Clarke (disambiguation)
- Troy Clarke (disambiguation)
- Vince Clarke (born 1960), British musician with the band Erasure
- Wayne Clarke (broadcaster) (born 1961), British Christian minister
- Wayne Clarke (footballer) (born 1961), English former footballer
- William Clarke (disambiguation)
- Yvette D. Clarke (born 1964), American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives
- Hannah Clarke/Baxter, Australian sportsperson and murder victim
Fictional characters[]
- Christian Clarke, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Franklin Clarke, in Agatha Christie's novel The A.B.C. Murders
- Isaac Clarke, main protagonist of the Dead Space video game series
- Linda Clarke, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Roger Clarke (EastEnders), in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Ryan Clarke, recurring character in the American television series Legacies
- Shane Clarke, in the Power Rangers Ninja Storm
References[]
- ^ "Last name: Clerk". Surname Database. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Clarke coat of arms, family crest and family history". irishsurnames.com. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
- ^ "Last name: Clarke". Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
This page lists people with the surname Clarke.
If an intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
Categories:
- Surnames
- Occupational surnames
- English-language surnames
- Surnames of Irish origin
- Surnames of English origin