USS Clemson (DD-186/AVP-17/AVD-4/DD-186/APD-31) was the lead ship of her class of destroyers which served in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Midshipman Henry A. Clemson (1820–1846), lost at sea when the brig USS Somers capsized in a sudden squall off Vera Cruz on 8 December 1846 while chasing a blockade runner. She is the only ship in the United States Navy to have received the name Clemson.