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Information contained in
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Origin / History of the Clark/e Name A medieval occupational name for a scribe or secretary, or for a member of a minor religious order, coming from the Old English ‘clerec’ or ‘clerc’ and the Old French ‘clerc’, both of which originate from the Latin ‘clericus’. The earliest Clarks were often clerics eg. clergymen or others in religious orders, but since the clergy of minor orders were allowed to marry and so found families, the surname could become established. In the Middle Ages literacy was largely confined to those in the Church, so most writings and secretarial work (including those recording deaths births, taxes and wills) was done by clerics or clergy so it was therefore natural that the term "clark" or "clerk" would come to be used of any literate man. At the time clergy who were in minor orders were allowed to marry and have families and the name became established. During the Middle Ages, the common pronunciation of 'er' was 'ar', so the man who sold items was a marchant, and the man who kept the books was a Clark. The ‘er’ version, as in Clerke, is the more original version of the name. Beside the obvious Clarkson (and the related Clarson) save in minor spelling alterations there are few variations of the name. However there are several asssociated names: Cler, Clercq, Leclerc, Leclercq, Lecler, Leclert, Leclair, Cloarec, Cloerec (French); Clergue (Provencal); Chierici, Clerici, Chierego (Italian); Clerc, De Clerck, De Clercq, De Klerk (Flemish, Dutch), Diminutive forms: O'Cleary (Irish) other forms exist in several other languages.
Coat of Arms / Crest It would appear there are several examples of arms awarded to the name Clark. The most ancient of these was recorded between the 12th and 15th centuries. It was silver on a red strip between three black circles and three white swans. The crest was a lark and the motto 'Carp Diem', which translated means 'Seize the present opportunity'. There is another of English origin, consisting of a silver shield with a chevron between three dragons heads and three rose crowns on the chevron. The crest is a dragon's head and the motto 'Fortitudo' (Fortitude). Another od\f Scottish origin is made up of a blue shield, with a gold fess between a gold castle in chief and a gold crescent. The crest features a blue lion rampant holding a battle axe, and the motto is 'In Deo speravi' meaning 'In God have I trusted'. There is no evidence to suggest any of these Coats of Arms are related to this Clark family.
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