Clarke

name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"clarke" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Clarke” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,551. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,551
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An English surname originating as an occupation, variant of Clark.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clarke · Clarke · English

Clarke · rank #6,551 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,551
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH buzz

Nearest frequency peer: buzz (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Clarke”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Clarke” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Clarke vs clerk
50% similar
Clarke vs clary
50% similar
Clarke vs clause
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Clarke
PropertyValue
HeadwordClarke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,551
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Clarke”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Clarkelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “buzz” (#6,550), “comeback” (#6,552), “brass” (#6,549). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “Clarke” is #6,551. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around Clarke, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #6,551 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Clarke, with forms such as "calrke", "cclarke", and "clakre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "clerk", "clary", "clause", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Clark, from Old English clerc (“cleric, clerk”). The correct English form is Clarke, spelled C-L-A-R-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An English surname originating as an occupation, variant of Clark.
  2. 2
    Ellipsis of Clarke County.

Etymology

From Clark, from Old English clerc (“cleric, clerk”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • calrke
  • cclarke
  • clakre
  • clarek
  • clarkke
  • clarrke
  • cllarke
  • clrake
  • lcarke

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Clarke - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

calrke2cclarke1clakre2clarek2clarkke1clarrke1cllarke1clrake2
Edit distance from "Clarke"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Clarke"?
"Clarke" is spelled C-L-A-R-K-E.
What does "Clarke" mean?
As a proper noun, "Clarke" means: An English surname originating as an occupation, variant of Clark.
What words are commonly confused with "Clarke"?
"Clarke" is commonly confused with "clerk", "clary", "clause". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "Clarke"?
From Clark, from Old English clerc (“cleric, clerk”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Clarke", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

booked#6,546detect#6,557diesel#6,559whites#6,536

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

dresses9 variantsunhappy9 variantsstreak9 variantshatred9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list