Klerk

Klerk is a surname of Dutch origin. It is derived from the occupation name klerk, meaning clerk or scribe, and historically indicated someone who performed clerical work. In Dutch and Afrikaans usage, the form de Klerk is common as a compound surname, with de meaning "the," though Klerk can also stand alone as a surname.

The name is found mainly among Afrikaans-speaking communities in South Africa, where descendants of Dutch settlers settled in past centuries. Outside South Africa, it occurs in the Netherlands and Belgium, and among diaspora communities resulting from migration.

Notable people with the surname include Frederik Willem de Klerk (1936–2021), a South African politician who served as State President from 1989 to 1994 and helped negotiate the end of apartheid; he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with Nelson Mandela. The de Klerk family has been associated with politics and public life in South Africa, and other individuals bearing the surname have been professionals in various fields.

Klerk is thus primarily recognized as an Afrikaans-Dutch occupational surname, with its bearers noted in historical and contemporary contexts.