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.
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