Meaning & Origin
An English surname originating as an occupation, variant of Clark.
Clarke is a girl's and boy's baby name of Old English origin, from the English occupational surname meaning 'clerk' or 'scholar,' from the Latin clericus (clergyman, scholar). As a given name transferred to girls, Clarke carries the confident, surname-style cool of names like Quinn, Blair, and Sloane.
About 1,546 U.S. births are recorded, used increasingly as a girl's name with the -e ending giving it a softer character than Clark. It has the intellectual, literary quality of its clerk/scholar meaning.