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

Clerk, 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 Clerk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Clerk in America

Clerk is the 22944th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Clerk surname appeared 1,115 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 Clerk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Clerk 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 Clerk

The surname Clerk has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "clerc" or "clerk," which referred to a scholar, priest, or someone employed in administrative or clerical duties, often in service to the church or nobility.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Clerk can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and property commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the late 11th century.

The name Clerk was particularly prevalent in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, where many early bearers of the name were employed in ecclesiastical or administrative roles. Over time, the spelling of the surname evolved to include variations such as Clarke, Clerke, and Clarke.

Notable bearers of the surname Clerk include John Clerk (c. 1370-1451), a Scottish landowner and judge who served as Lord Clerk Register of Scotland; William Clerke (c. 1495-1552), an English clergyman and scholar who translated several works from Greek into Latin; and Samuel Clarke (1675-1729), an influential English philosopher and theologian who made significant contributions to the study of natural theology and metaphysics.

Another prominent figure with the surname Clerk was Sir George Clerk (1786-1849), a Scottish landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and played a significant role in the agricultural improvement of Scotland. In the 19th century, Sir George Clerk Maxwell (1819-1879), a Scottish landowner and scientist, made important contributions to the field of electromagnetism and became the first person to produce a permanent photographic image from an electromagnetic wave.

Throughout history, the surname Clerk has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including clergymen, scholars, landowners, and public servants, reflecting the diverse roles and occupations held by those who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Clerk

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

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 Clerk 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 Clerk 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 Clerk was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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