Clark
Feminine · “clerk”
Clark is given to boys far more often — 50,851 boys against 354 girls since 1880. See Clark as a boy name
Clark entered the US charts in 1918, peaked at #3869 in 1918, ranks #6325 in 2025 — given to only a few children a year.
How old is the name Clark?
Clark first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Clark is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 300 people named Clark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Clark most popular?
Clark peaked in 1918, reaching #3869 nationally. Today it ranks #6325, 2,456 places below that high. See the whole 1918 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From clericus to Clark
The story of Clark
The Latin clericus gave Old English clerc and Middle English clerk, a word that meant clergyman first and then, as reading spread beyond monastery walls, simply a scholar or record-keeper. Men known by that trade were called Clark or Clarke, and the surname became one of the most widespread in England and Scotland. Like Grant, Dean and Scott, it crossed into the given-name column in nineteenth-century America, where family surnames were freely handed forward as first names. It has held a modest, unbroken place on the American charts from the earliest records onward.
Meaning
clerk, scribe, cleric — one who could read and write
From Latin clericus, 'clergyman', which in medieval England came to mean any literate man, since literacy and the church largely overlapped.
How the name formed
- clericus
- clerc
- clerk
- Clark
Related forms: Clarke · Clerk · Clerc · Clericus
Pronouncing Clark
KLARK
One syllable, rhyming with park. Almost no room for error in English, and speakers of most other languages manage it on the first try.
Nicknames for Clark
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1918
- Most girls named
- 202126 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3869reached in 1918
- Change vs 2024
- −10.0%18 in 2025, from 20
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Clark in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Clarke in English — spelling variant
- Clerk in English (archaic) — spelling variant
- Clerc in French — related form
- Clericus in Latin — related form
Clarks among us
people named Clark are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 89,293 born in 2025 was named Clark
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Clark sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Clark beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Clark in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
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What they receive
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Clark
Feminine · #6325 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Clarks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Clark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Clark in 2025?
- Clark ranks #6325 among US girl names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Clark?
- About 1 in every 89,293 US girls born in 2025 was named Clark — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Clark with classmates?
- Clark will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Clark
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kaye#6325 · Doria#6325 · Karolyn#6325 · Rosaleen#6325 · Roni#6325 · Darian#6325 · Svetlana#6325 · Fanny#6325
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Clark? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Clark and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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