Show ContentsClement History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Clement

What does the name Clement mean?

The distinguished surname Clement can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Venice. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. The most common type of family name found in the region of Venice is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name. During the Middle Ages, Italians adopted the patronymic system of name-making because it perfectly complemented the prevailing Feudal System. In Italy the popularity of patronymic type of surname is also due to the fact that during the Christian era, people often named their children after saints and biblical figures.

The Clement surname is a patronymic or plural form of the personal name Clemente, from the Latin "clemens," which means "mild" or "merciful."

Early Origins of the Clement family

The surname Clement was first found in Rimini, and date back to the 12th century, when Giordano Clementini was a military commander during the expedition to the Orient.

Early History of the Clement family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clement research. The years 1158, 1550, 1700, 1736, 1737, 1738, 1752, 1759 and 1832 are included under the topic Early Clement History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clement Spelling Variations

Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms in comparison with other European surnames because they reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each of which has its distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the most standard Italian surname suffix is "I", whereas in Southern Italy the most typical surname suffix is "O". Sardinian is very different from other forms of Italian and in fact, it is considered to be its own distinct language. Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes, church officials, and the bearers of names, spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. As a consequence of the major changes in the Italian language and in the local spellings of Italian surnames that occurred over the course of history, there are numerous variations for the surname Clement. These spelling variations include Clementi, Clemente, Chimenti, Chimento, Chimienti, Chiumenti, Chiommiente, De Clemente, Di Clemente, Clementini, Clementucci, Clemenza, Clemenzo and many more.

Early Notables of the Clement family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • Giovan-Battista Clementini, General of the Infantry under Duke Carlo Emanuele of Savoy
  • Clementino Clementini, a military captain of Venetian troupes
  • Giulio Clementini of Rimini, a prominent lawyer
  • Africo Clementi of Padua, a lawyer around 1550
  • Maria Giovanna Battista Clementi, a painter in Turin around 1700
  • Muzio Clementi of Rome, born in 1752, a famous musician and composer

Clement World Ranking

In the United States, the name Clement is the 1,243rd most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Clement is ranked the 417th most popular surname with an estimated 11,195 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Clement is the 271st popular surname. 3 France ranks Clement as 44th with 43,725 people. 4 New Zealand ranks Clement as 794th with 917 people. 5


Clement migration to the United States +

The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Clement:

Clement Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Joreme Clement, who landed in Virginia in 1623 6
  • Elizabeth Clement, who arrived in Jamestown, Va in 1624 6
  • Augustine Clement, painter who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James", bound for Dorchester 6
  • Edey Clement, who settled in Virginia in 1635
  • Margaret Clement, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Clement Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Lucrece Clement, who landed in New York in 1731 6
  • Mich Clement, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1738 6
  • Agnes Clement, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1743 6
  • Miss Clement, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1754 6
  • Moses Clement, who landed in New York in 1755 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Clement Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Clement, who landed in America in 1801 6
  • David Clement, aged 22, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 6
  • Andrew Clement, aged 20, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 6
  • James Clement, who arrived in Boston in 1847
  • Josepha Clement, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Clement migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Clement Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Pierre Clement, aged 29, who arrived in Quebec in 1656
  • Mr. Pierre Clément, French labourer travelling to Canada to work for François Peron, arriving on 11th April 1656 7
  • Pierre Clement married Louise Gélé in Quebec on 25th August 1659 8
  • Jean Clement, son of Jean and Anne, who married Madeleine Surget, daughter of François and Marguerite, in Quebec on 28th September 1659 8
  • Pierre Clément, the son of Jean and Jeanne Martin, originally of Aunis, who married Louise Gèle in Quebec in 1659
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Clement Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Pierre Clement, son of Pierre and Catherine, who married Marie-Catherine Prézot-Préjean-Larivière, daughter of Michel and Marie, in Montreal, Quebec on 19th April 1702 8
  • Pierre Clément dit Larivière, who married, Marie Prézeau in Montreal, in 1702
  • Édouard Clement, son of Robert and Élisabeth, who married Catherine-Angélique Gautier, daughter of Jean and Angélique, in Quebec on 27th October 1710 8
  • André Clement, son of Gilbert and Madeleine, who married Marie Gaboury, daughter of Antoine and Jeanne, in Saint-Augustin, Quebec on 18th November 1720 8
  • Bernard Clement, son of Pierre and Marie-Catherine, who married Marie Messaguier, daughter of Hugues and Marie-Anne, in Lachine, Quebec on 8th January 1721 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Clement Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Jacques Clément, the son of Jean and Julienne Vivie of Normandy, who was married in Quebec to Marie-Louise Giraud
  • Joseph Clement, who arrived in Canada in 1841

Clement migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Clement Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Catherine Clement, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • Lavinia Clement, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "British Sovereign" in 1847 10
  • Margaret Clement, Scottish convict from Stirling, who was transported aboard the "Anna Maria" on October 4, 1851, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 11
  • John Clement, aged 28, a smelter, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Glentanner" 12

Clement migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Clement Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Clement, (b. 1829), aged 28, British se travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 13
  • Mr. Shadrack Clement, (b. 1831), aged 26, British agricultural labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 13
  • Mr. William Henry Clement, (b. 1851), aged 6, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 13
  • Miss Elizabeth Ann Clement, (b. 1853), aged 4, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 13
  • Mr. Edward Charles Clement, (b. 1855), aged 2, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Clement (post 1700) +

  • Robert Nelson "Bob" Clement (b. 1943), Tennessee politician
  • John Louis "Johnny" Clement (1919-1969), American football player
  • Frank Goad Clement (1920-1969), American politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1953 to 1959, and again from 1963 to 1967
  • Matthew Paul Clement (b. 1974), former American Major League Baseball starting pitcher
  • John Henderson Clement (b. 1931), American singer, songwriter, and a record and film producer
  • Nathan Clement (b. 1994), Canadian Para cycling and Para swimming competitor
  • René Clément (1913-1996), French film director and screenwriter
  • Wolfgang Clement (1940-2020), German politician, 7th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia (1998-2002), Federal Minister of Economics and Labour (2002-2005)
  • Pascal Clément (1945-2020), French politician, member of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, French Minister of Justice (2005-2007)
  • Gabriel-Joseph Clément, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 14
  • ... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. William Clement (1922-1941), Australian Ordinary Seaman from Auburn, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 15


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  3. "The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  6. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  7. Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
  8. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
  10. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BRITISH SOVEREIGN 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847BritishSovereign.htm
  11. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anna Maria voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1851 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anna-maria/1851
  12. South Australia Passengerlists (Retrieved 10th November 2010). Retrieved from https://archives.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/documentstore/passengerlists/1855/GRG35_48_1_55-35_Glentanner.pdf
  13. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 12) Gabriel-Joseph Clément. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
  15. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp


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