Clemens
A surname from the Latin personal name Clemens, meaning “mild” or “gentle.”
The #2,542 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,695 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Clemens comes from the Latin personal name Clemens, which means “mild,” “gentle,” or “merciful.” In surname use, it usually began as a family name derived from the given name Clement/Clemens rather than from a place or occupation. Some historical sources also treat it as a continental form, especially in German and French contexts.
History
The name appears in several European languages and was carried into English records in forms such as Clemens, Clements, and Clemence. In England, it is often explained as a surname from the baptismal name Clement, sometimes through a nickname or a shortened family line. It also appears among Protestant refugee and immigrant names in early modern records, helping spread the spelling in Britain and later North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root that gave the surname Clemens also produced the female name Clementine.
From the historical record
“2 the Middle Farm [O.E. middel+tun\ MENCE (Teut.-Lat.) a dim. of Lat. Clemens' V. Clement. MENDEL Iv. the Appendix of Foreign MENDELLJ Names.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)