Clark County, Nevada, shares a name with about a dozen other counties across the U.S.

Las Vegas Valley residents might’ve done a double take when they heard national news coverage that ballots had intentionally been set ablaze in Clark County in the days leading up to Election Day.

That county, to a slight relief of Nevada election officials, is located in Washington state.

And those are only two of a dozen “Clark” counties in the United States, most of which are named after brothers George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War general, and/or William Clark from the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

No so for Nevada’s Clark County.

Our county is named in honor of Sen. William Andrew Clark. He is credited with establishing a railroad that connected Los Angeles with Salt Lake City, according to the county’s biography.

Clark County, Nevada, is not only the most populous among the dozen Clark counties — by far — but it is also is the nation’s 11th most populous county.

Here’s a brief rundown of the dozen counties that at least share a name and how they rank by population, according to 2023 U.S. Census figures.

1. Nevada

Population: 2,336,573

Founded: 1905

Namesake: The railroad Sen. William Andrew Clark created made stops in Southern Nevada. He bought land and partitioned it and sold parcels in auction, which led to the creation of downtown Las Vegas.

2. Washington

Population: 521,150

Founded: 1845

Namesake: First known as Vancouver District, the county was named after William Clark, who traveled through there in the early 1800s as part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

3. Ohio

Population: 134,610

Founded: 1818

Namesake: Ohio’s Clark County was created through the state government in honor of George Rogers Clark.

4. Indiana

Population: 125,467

Founded: 1801

Namesake: The county was named after the Clark brothers who lived there. It’s also where the Lewis and Clark Expedition began.

5. Kentucky

Population: 37,304

Founded: 1793

Namesake: The county — initially known as Bourbon County — was named after George Rogers Clark.

6. Wisconsin

Population: 34,774

Founded: 1854

Namesake: There are conflicting reports about the namesake of Wisconsin’s Clark County.

An online source states that it might’ve been named after the Clark brothers, while another states that it might’ve been named after a prominent state legislator, Satterlee Clark.

7. Arkansas

Population: 21,274

Founded: 1818

Namesake: The Arkansas county is named after William Clark, the explorer.

8. Illinois

Population: 15,088

Founded: 1819

Namesake: Clark County, Illinois, is named after George Rogers Clark.

9. Missouri

Population: 6,641

Founded: 1836

Namesake: The county was named after William Clark.

10. South Dakota

Population: 3,948

Founded: 1873

Namesake: The county’s namesake is a “territorial legislator” known as Newton Clark, according to Greg Furness who wrote a book about the county.

11. Kansas

Population: 1,847

Founded: 1885

Namesake: The county was named after Capt. Charles F. Clarke, a military veteran from the 6th Kansas Cavalry, according to Fort Hays State University.

12. Idaho

Population: 801

Founded: 1919

Namesake: Clark County, Idaho, was named after Sam K. Clark, an early settler who also the county’s first state senator.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.