Spencer
Spencer is the 208th most common surname in the United States, shared by 135,510 people at the 2020 census. That is about one person in 2,206.
By the numbers
- People
- 135,510
- Rank
- 208th
- How common
- 1 in 2,206
- Per 100,000
- 45.3
Where the name comes from
Origin an occupational name
An occupational surname from Middle English Spenser, Spencer, Spensier, from the common noun spenser (“spencer”), denoting someone who works in a spense (“spence”), or as a butler or steward.
Etymology from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Who bears the name
How people with the surname Spencer described their own race and Hispanic origin at the 2020 census:
Notable people called Spencer
- Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)English philosopher and political theorist
- Bud Spencer (1929–2016)Italian actor, lawyer, professional swimmer and water polo player
- Octavia Spencer (born 1970)American actress
- Jesse Spencer (born 1979)Australian actor and musician
- Baldwin Spencer (born 1948)Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
- John Spencer (1946–2005)American actor
- Percy Spencer (1894–1970)American engineer and inventor
- Abigail Spencer (born 1981)American actress
People named Spencer with articles in the most Wikipedia languages. Data from Wikidata (CC0).
Surnames like Spencer
Also a first name
Spencer has been given to 129,638 American babies as a first name since 1880, peaking in 1998. See it as a given name.
Try it on yourself
Source: US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Surnames, 2020. The Census describes the file as the surnames borne by 100 or more people; rarer names are not published. The line is not quite exact, and 617 published names come in under it, the smallest at 92 people. Race and Hispanic origin are self-reported. Rates are worked out against the 298.9 million people the file's own figures are calculated on, which is fewer than the census counted in all: the difference is everyone whose surname was too rare to publish.