Find out how popular the last name Chark is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Chark.

Chark, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Chark surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chark in America

Chark is the 143149th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chark surname appeared 116 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Chark.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chark to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Chark

The surname CHARK is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "ceorc," meaning "church," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived near or been associated with a church or religious establishment.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a Thomas Chark is mentioned. This document, which was a tax record, provides valuable insight into the distribution and prevalence of surnames during that era.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various parish records across England, such as in the baptismal records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a William Chark is listed in 1568. This suggests that the name had spread across different regions of the country by that time.

The CHARK surname is also found in the Hearth Tax Returns of the late 17th century, which were records of households liable for paying a tax based on the number of hearths or fireplaces in their homes. This provides further evidence of the name's presence and distribution across various parts of England.

One notable individual bearing the CHARK surname was Sir John Chark (1617-1691), a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Bridport in Dorset during the reign of King Charles II. Another individual of note was William Chark (1792-1859), a renowned English engraver and artist known for his intricate copper-plate engravings.

Other historical figures with the CHARK surname include Robert Chark (1545-1628), an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, and Thomas Chark (1670-1745), a wealthy landowner and philanthropist from Dorset who donated funds for the construction of several schools and almshouses in the region.

The CHARK surname has also been recorded in various spellings over the centuries, such as Charke, Cherke, and Chirke, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chark

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Chark.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Chark was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Chark has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Chark was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Chark, please contact us.

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