Spencer

Where Spencer comes from

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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Spencer
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1762
    Spencer Perceval born
    19th-century prime minister of the United Kingdom
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #282 among boys — 35 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1900
    Spencer Tracy born
    American actor
  4. 1998
    Peak, #84
    4,619 babies named Spencer — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2006
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #184.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name.
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, of general 19th century and later usage.
  • A female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.
Namesakes
  • Spencer Tracy · American actor, 1900–1967
  • Spencer Perceval · 19th-century prime minister of the United Kingdom, 1762–1812
  • Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington · Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1673–1743
  • Spencer Fullerton Baird · American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, museum curator, and the 2nd Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1823–1887
  • Spencer Tunick · American photographer, born 1967

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.