2000
#3,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.15
Rare Last name
Clarkson
Derived from Clark's son, indicating the descendant of someone named Clark, an English surname meaning "cleric" or "scribe."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,798 Americans carry the last name Clarkson. That puts it at #4,033 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,982 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clarkson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Clarkson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.8K
1 in 34,982
Census rank
#4,033
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,544 bearers of the surname Clarkson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4033rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clarkson, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clarkson
The surname Clarkson is of English origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational surname, derived from the place name 'Clarkson' in the county of Norfolk, England. This place name is believed to have been derived from the Old English words 'clarc' meaning 'clerk' or 'scholar' and 'tun' meaning 'settlement' or 'village'.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Clarkson can be found in the Rotuli Hundredorum, a census-like record from the late 13th century. This document mentions a John de Clerkeston from Norfolk in 1273. The surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1275, which lists a William de Clerkeston from the same county.
In medieval times, the surname was often spelled in various ways, such as Clerkson, Clerksone, and Clerkeston, reflecting the local dialects and scribal variations of the time. The name is also found in early parish records and tax rolls from different parts of England, indicating its widespread use.
One notable bearer of the surname was Andrew Clarkson (c. 1662-1737), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1723 to 1724. Another was Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), a prominent English abolitionist and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire.
In the 19th century, the surname Clarkson gained further prominence with the birth of Thomas Clarkson (1809-1893), an English missionary and explorer who was the first European to reach the Great Lakes region of Africa. His accounts of his travels and encounters with local tribes were instrumental in expanding knowledge about Central Africa.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir John Clarkson (1854-1924), a British businessman and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London from 1918 to 1919. He was also a Member of Parliament for the City of London from 1900 to 1918.
The surname Clarkson has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Clarkson's Green in Hertfordshire and Clarkson's Hill in Gloucestershire, further reflecting its locational origins and historical presence in various parts of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clarkson
Among Census respondents with the surname Clarkson, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Clarkson bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Clarkson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 6,842
- Black or African American11.2% · 955
- Two or more races3.8% · 323
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 289
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 61
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clarkson
Clarkson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,004
+506 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 3.05
Rank movement Down 114 places
2020
#4,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,544
-460 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.86
Rank movement Down 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,839 | 8,498 | 3.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,953 | 9,004 | 3.05 | +506 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 114 places |
| 2020 | #4,033 | 8,544 | 2.86 | -460 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 80 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Clarkson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,953 | #4,033 | -2.0% |
| Count | 9,004 | 8,544 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.05 | 2.86 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clarkson bearers went from 9,004 to 8,544 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,953 to #4,033.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Clarkson
FAQ
Clarkson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clarkson?
Name Census estimates that about 9,798 living Americans carry the surname Clarkson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,982 residents.
How common is Clarkson?
Clarkson ranks #4,033 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,544 people with the surname Clarkson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,798), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Clarkson.
Has Clarkson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clarkson went from 9,004 recorded bearers to 8,544. That is a decrease of 460 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,953 to #4,033.
What does the Census say about the background of Clarkson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clarkson, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Clarkson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (6,842 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clarkson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.1%), Black (11.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Clarkson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Clarkson mean?
Derived from Clark's son, indicating the descendant of someone named Clark, an English surname meaning "cleric" or "scribe." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Clarkson (2.86 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Clarkson?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Clarkson? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.