How to say it
SPEN · cer
/ˈspɛn.sər/
Masculine
Spencer
Steward, dispenser of provisions
What it means
An English occupational surname for the steward who dispensed provisions in a great household.
Spencer comes from a medieval household role: the dispenser, the official who managed and handed out the provisions of a noble estate. It became a distinguished English surname, borne by the family of Princess Diana, and crossed comfortably into first-name use. Spencer Tracy carried it through Hollywood's golden age. It reads polished and a touch preppy. Spence is the natural short.
Popularity over time
peaked at #84 in 1998, currently #360 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Spence is the easy short.
- Spelling
Spencer is the usual name; Spenser is the poet Edmund Spenser's spelling.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Spencer Tracy American actor of Hollywood's golden age
Spelling variants
- Spenser
Names with the same feeling
See Spencer from another angle
By style