Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Clarke

Gender Unisex · 30% girls Rank 2025 #3,193 Trend ↓ Falling 28%

Clarke is a given name that originated as a transferred use of the surname Clarke.

Rank 2025
#3,193
among boys · ↑151 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
177
named Clarke · +24% vs 2024
How common
1 in 46,164
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2021
192 babies
All-time total
5,598
#2,132 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Clarke popularity over time

5,598 babies have been named Clarke since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.030.050.080.118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 16 16 2 – #831
1890s – 11 11 1 -31% #1,002
1900s – 26 26 3 +136% #856
1910s – 206 206 21 +692% #1,020
1920s – 315 315 32 +53% #1,162
1930s – 356 356 36 +13% #927
1940s – 439 439 44 +23% #890
1950s – 491 491 49 +12% #954
1960s – 417 417 42 -15% #1,040
1970s – 232 232 23 -44% #1,421
1980s – 288 288 29 +24% #1,660
1990s 161 306 467 47 +62% #1,867
2000s 163 212 375 38 -20% #3,299
2010s 550 375 925 93 +147% #2,213
2020s (to 2025) 814 220 1,034 172 +86% #2,736

Where Clarke is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 36 0.02 outside top 500
2027 34 0.02 outside top 500
2028 33 0.02 outside top 500
2029 33 0.02 outside top 500
2030 32 0.02 outside top 500

Where Clarke is most popular

Boys named Clarke per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.020 per 1,000. Strongest in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Clarke born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
North Carolina 5 0.020 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 5 0.019 -7%
Texas 8 0.009 -55%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
California – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Clarke

Clarke is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #3,193 in 2025 with 37 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 5,598 American babies have been named Clarke, about 70% boys and 30% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 192 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Clarke stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Clarke?

The median living Clarke is about 20 years old; half are between 6 and 53. An estimated 4,300 people named Clarke are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Clarke year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 140 #1,519 37 #3,193
2024 108 #1,855 35 #3,344
2023 133 #1,583 25 #4,245
2022 139 #1,542 38 #3,167
2021 152 #1,420 40 #3,030
2020 142 #1,504 45 #2,736
2019 115 #1,774 53 #2,493
2018 92 #2,090 41 #2,900
2017 95 #2,059 39 #3,018
2016 76 #2,429 61 #2,213
2015 49 #3,306 36 #3,164
2014 32 #4,483 39 #2,941
2013 19 #6,525 32 #3,348
2012 25 #5,433 31 #3,460
2011 23 #5,780 23 #4,250
2010 24 #5,651 20 #4,703
2009 23 #5,934 22 #4,456
2008 17 #7,488 14 #6,123
2007 15 #8,191 23 #4,257
2006 14 #8,344 26 #3,803
2005 12 #9,018 19 #4,501
2004 19 #6,285 18 #4,631
2003 9 #10,627 28 #3,299
2002 16 #6,775 23 #3,687
2001 17 #6,385 22 #3,734
2000 21 #5,349 17 #4,430
1995 16 #5,728 46 #1,867
1990 – – 35 #2,093
1985 – – 27 #2,081
1980 – – 24 #2,167
1975 – – 18 #2,382
1970 – – 35 #1,421
1965 – – 30 #1,412
1960 – – 44 #1,179
1955 – – 60 #973
1950 – – 49 #989
1945 – – 41 #998
1940 – – 35 #1,109
1935 – – 34 #1,129
1930 – – 28 #1,370
1925 – – 33 #1,255
1920 – – 33 #1,256
1915 – – 39 #1,020
1910 – – 6 #1,451
1905 – – 6 #1,122
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – 5 #1,033
1885 – – – –
1880 – – 6 #831

Famous people named Clarke

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Clarke Peters Clarke Peters American actor, writer, and director (born 1952) Contemporary
  2. 2 Clarke Abel Clarke Abel British surgeon and naturalist (1780-1826) 18th century
  3. 3 Clarke Scholes Clarke Scholes American swimmer (1930–2010) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Clarke, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Clarke?

The median living Clarke is about 20 years old. Half of all living Clarkes are between 6 and 53 years old.

How many people named Clarke are alive today?

An estimated 4,300 people named Clarke are alive in the United States, based on 5,598 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Clarke mean?

Clarke is a given name that originated as a transferred use of the surname Clarke.

How popular is the name Clarke in 2025?

Clarke ranked #3,193 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 37 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Clarke?

5,598 babies have been named Clarke in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Clarke most popular?

Clarke peaked in 2021, when 192 newborns received the name.

Is Clarke a boy or girl name?

Clarke is used for both: about 30% of babies named Clarke have been girls and 70% boys.

Is the name Clarke rising or falling?

Clarke has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Clarke become more popular?

Clarke is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 32 boys named Clarke in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Clarke?

Well-known people named Clarke include Clarke Peters (actor), Clarke Abel (physician), Clarke Scholes (swimmer).

Names like Clarke

Names that sound and feel close to Clarke: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Clarke with similar names → More names starting with C →