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Spencer Name Meaning, Origins & History

Spencer

Pronunciation: SPEN-suhr

Meaning Provisioner Origin surnames Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#360
TREND
28
GIRLS RANK
#1,025
TREND
94
Peak Years
1998, 1999, 2000
Lowest Years
1893, 1885, 1897
Energy Archetype
Original & Spiritually Intense

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Spencer in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Spencer

  • A favorite of earlier generations: Spencer appeared in the U.S. top 100 in 2 separate runs, totaling 6 years. Its last run lasted 3 consecutive years, from 1998 through 2000.
  • More than 129 thousand babies named Spencer: U.S. records list 129,627 babies given the name Spencer from 1880 through 2025. Even 5,706 girls received the name Spencer - about 1 girl for every 22 boys.

What Does the Name Spencer Mean?

Spencer is an English given name taken from the English surname Spencer, an occupational name meaning steward or dispenser of provisions. The surname comes from Middle English spencer and Old French despensier, terms for a household officer who managed and handed out food, drink, and supplies. That Old French word goes back to Latin dispensare, meaning to dispense, distribute, or weigh out, formed from dis- and pensare, to weigh. The literal idea is measuring out or distributing goods. In English surname use, the meaning is customarily summarized as steward, sometimes butler, and the given name inherits that occupational sense rather than a separate meaning of its own.

Spencer Name History & Origins

Occupational bynames were common in medieval England, and Spencer is one of them. It is recorded as a surname in the Middle Ages, when such bynames became hereditary. The name is closely associated with the Spencer family, an English noble family; the title Earl Spencer was created in 1765 for John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer. In that family and in other gentry families, Spencer was also used as a first name, following the English practice of taking a surname as a given name. Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, born in 1673, is an early example of Spencer as a first name. Spencer Perceval, prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1809 to 1812, is another. The name continued in general English-speaking use as a chiefly masculine given name. The spelling Spenser is also found, notably in the poet Edmund Spenser, but Spencer is the usual form for the noble family and for most modern given-name use.

How Popular is the Name Spencer?

Spencer recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1998. Spencer ranked among the top 100 U.S. names from 1992 through 1994, then returned in 1998 and remained through 2000.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Explore Name Lists Featuring Spencer

Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.

Past Favorite Boy Names

Past Favorite Boy Names: Once-Popular Names

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How the Name Spencer Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.

Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.

✦ Spencer's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Spencer's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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