Clarence (given name)
Clarence is a masculine given name. It was adopted as a first name from the Duke of Clarence, a title given to sons or younger brothers of English and British monarchs, which in turn derives from the estate name Honour of Clare. Its popularity as a first name increased in the second half of the 19th century in tribute to Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, who was the eldest son of Edward VII.[1]
Notable people with the name include:
- Clarence 13X (1928–1969), American religious leader and the founder of the Five-Percent Nation
- Clarence Acuña (born 1975), Chilean professional footballer
- Clarence R. Allen (1925–2021), American geologist
- Clarence Applegran (1893–1960), American football player and basketball coach
- Clarence Ashley (1895–1967), American musician and singer
- Clarence Avant (1931–2023), American music executive and film producer
- Clarence Albert Bacote (1906–1981), American historian and activist
- Clarence Badger (1880–1964), American film director of feature films
- Clarence Bailey (1963–2006), American football player
- Clarence Bamberger (1886–1984), American mining executive, politician and philanthropist
- Clarence Barbour (1867–1937), American Baptist clergyman, educator, and the president of Brown University
- Clarence Barlow (1945–2023), British composer
- Clarence W. Barron (1855–1928), American financial editor and publisher who founded Barron's magazine
- Clarence Beavers (1921–2017), American United States Army sergeant and paratrooper
- Clarence Birdseye (1886–1956), pioneer of frozen food
- Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr. (1922–2014), American judge and politician
- Clarence Brown (disambiguation), several people
- Clarence Sinclair Bull (1896–June 8, 1979), American portrait photographer
- Clarence Burton (1882–1933), American actor
- Clarence G. Burton (1886–1982), American politician
- Clarence M. Burton (1853–1932), American lawyer, businessman, historian and philanthropist
- Clarence Campbell (1905–1984), Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier
- Clarence Thomas Campbell (1843–1922), Canadian physician, historian and politician
- Clarence Cannon (1879–1964), American politician
- Clarence Carnes (1927–1988), American fugitive
- Clarence Carter (1936–2026), blind US soul singer and musician
- Clarence Holbrook Carter (1904–2000), US painter
- Clarence E. Case (1877–1961), acting governor of New Jersey in 1920
- Clarence Chamberlin (1893–1976), American pioneer of aviation
- Clarence Clark (1859-1937), American tennis player and banker
- Clarence Clemons (1942–2011), American musician, saxophonist for the E Street Band
- Clarence Cummings (born 2000), American Olympic weightlifter
- Clarence Dart (1920–2012), American World War II fighter pilot and member of the Tuskegee Airmen
- Clarence Delgado (born 2004), Filipino teen actor
- Clarence DeMar (1888–1958), American marathoner
- Clarence Dill (1884–1978), American politician
- Clarence Dixon (1955–2022), American murderer
- Clarence Darrow (1857–1938), American lawyer
- Clarence Day (1874–1935), American author and cartoonist
- Clarence Dillon (1882–1979), American financier and businessman
- Clarence Dutton (1841–1912), American geologist and US Army officer
- Clarence Ransom Edwards (1859–1931), American general
- Clarence Edwards (1933–1993), American blues musician
- Clarence Elkins (born 1963), American man who was wrongfully convicted of murder
- Clarence Fok, Hong Kong-Canadian film director and actor
- Clarence Gaines (1923–2005), American college basketball player and coach
- Clarence H. Geist (1866-1938), American public utilities magnate
- Clarence Geldart (1867–1935), American film actor
- Clarence Gillis (1895–1960), Canadian politician
- Clarence Gilyard (1955–2022), American university professor, actor and author
- Clarence Goodson (born 1982), US footballer
- Clarence Henry (boxer) (1926–1999), American boxer
- Clarence "Frogman" Henry (born 1937), American rhythm and blues singer and pianist
- Clarence Floyd Hirshfeld (1881–1939), American electrical, mechanical and consulting engineer, and educator
- Clarence Z. Hubbell (1869–1953), American architect
- Clarence Janecek (1911–1990), NFL player
- Clarence Jey, American record producer
- Clarence Johnson (1910–1990), American aeronautical engineer
- Clarence M. Kelley (1911–1997), American law enforcement officer, the Chief of the Kansas City Police Department in Kansas City, Missouri, and the second director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Clarence King (1842–1901), American geologist, mountaineer, and author
- Clarence Kolster (1895–1972), American film editor
- Clarence Lam (born 1980), American politician and physician who has served in the Maryland Senate representing the 12th district since 2019
- Clarence F. Leary (1894–1918), American officer in the United States Navy during World War I
- Clarence P. LeMire (1886–1961), judge of the United States Tax Court
- Clarence Long (1908–1994), American politician
- Clarence Lung (1914–1993), American actor
- Clarence Mackay (1874–1938), American financier and philanthropist
- Clarence D. Martin (1886–1955), 11th Governor of the state of Washington
- Clarence R. Martin (1886–1972), Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court
- Clarence Edward Mathias (1876–1935), US Sergeant major, Medal of Honor recipient
- Clarence McNair (born 1977), American writer and entrepreneur
- Clarence Mitchell Jr. (1911-1984), an American civil rights activist and chief lobbyist for the NAACP for nearly 30 years
- Clarence Mitchell III (1939-2012), an American politician and son of Clarence Mitchell Jr.
- Clarence Mitchell IV (born 1962), an American radio cohost of The C4 And Bryan Nehman Show, former American politician, son of Clarence Mitchell III, and grandson of Clarence Mitchell Jr.
- Clarence Moore (disambiguation), several people
- Clarence Morley (1869–1948), American politician
- Clarence E. Mulford (1883–1956), American writer
- Clarence Nash (1904–1985), American voice actor
- Clarence Charles Newcomer (1923–2005), US District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Clarence Paul Oliver (1898–1991), American geneticist
- Clarence Page (born 1947), American journalist
- Clarence Palmer (born 1943), American jazz organist
- Clarence Paul (1928–1995), American songwriter and record producer
- Clarence Perry (1872–1944), American urban planner, sociologist, author, and educator
- Clarence J. Roberts (1873–1931), Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court
- Clarence Ryan, Australian actor
- Clarence Sasser (1947–2024), American soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor
- Clarence Saunders (athlete), Bermudian high jumper
- Clarence Saunders (grocer), American retailer, pioneer of supermarkets
- Clarence Scharbauer (1879–1942), American rancher
- Clarence Schmalz (1916–1981), Canadian ice hockey administrator
- Clarence Seedorf (born 1976), Dutch footballer
- Clarence Richard Silva (born 1949), American Catholic prelate
- Clarence Smith (disambiguation), several people
- Clarence A. Southerland (1889–1973), Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court
- Clarence Stein (1882–1975), American urban planner, architect, and writer
- Clarence Stoner (1901–1994), American politician from Pennsylvania
- Clarence Swensen (1917–2009), American actor
- Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Clarence L. Townes Jr. (1928–2017), American businessperson, politician, civic activist
- Clarence J. A. Turner (1893–1957), American jockey
- Clarence W. Turner (1866–1939), American lawyer and politician
- Clarence Watters (1902−1986), American organist
- Clarence N. Weems Jr., American scholar and military officer
- Clarence White (1944–1973), American guitarist and singer
- Clarence Cameron White (1880–1960), American composer
- Clarence Hudson White (1871–1925), American photographer
- Clarence Whitehill (1871–1932), American opera singer
- Clarence Wijewardena, Sri Lankan guitarist and vocalist
- Clarence Williams III (1939–2021), American actor
- Clarence Wiseman, Canadian clergy, tenth general of The Salvation Army
- Clarence Woods (1888–1956), early American ragtime composer
- Clarence Zener (1905–1993), American physicist
In fiction
- Clarence Odbody, a guardian angel from the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life and 1990 film Clarence
- Lumpy Rutherford, a recurring character in Leave It to Beaver, an American TV series