# Spencer (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/spencer/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “spencer”, “spence” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈspɛnsɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Spence, Spenny |
| Variant spellings | Spenser |
| US babies named this | 129,638 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 123,931 / 5,707 (4% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,710, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 100 | 1,981 |
| 2012 | 145 | 1,529 |
| 2013 | 179 | 1,316 |
| 2014 | 203 | 1,204 |
| 2015 | 239 | 1,091 |
| 2016 | 245 | 1,067 |
| 2017 | 267 | 981 |
| 2018 | 247 | 1,043 |
| 2019 | 242 | 1,058 |
| 2020 | 238 | 1,053 |
| 2021 | 241 | 1,050 |
| 2022 | 230 | 1,088 |
| 2023 | 245 | 1,036 |
| 2024 | 217 | 1,119 |
| 2025 | 245 | 1,025 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,585 | 226 |
| 2012 | 1,536 | 234 |
| 2013 | 1,459 | 248 |
| 2014 | 1,520 | 248 |
| 2015 | 1,433 | 252 |
| 2016 | 1,371 | 267 |
| 2017 | 1,212 | 292 |
| 2018 | 1,117 | 307 |
| 2019 | 1,038 | 321 |
| 2020 | 1,046 | 317 |
| 2021 | 1,050 | 315 |
| 2022 | 990 | 338 |
| 2023 | 903 | 362 |
| 2024 | 845 | 384 |
| 2025 | 908 | 360 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3 | 5,742 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,609 |
| 2017 | 8 | 2,925 |
| 2018 | 11 | 2,340 |
| 2019 | 11 | 2,286 |
| 2020 | 6 | 3,447 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,961 |
| 2022 | 7 | 3,148 |
| 2023 | 7 | 3,218 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3,695 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2,788 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 307 | 183 |
| 2012 | 394 | 150 |
| 2013 | 349 | 160 |
| 2014 | 336 | 170 |
| 2015 | 374 | 153 |
| 2016 | 396 | 145 |
| 2017 | 325 | 170 |
| 2018 | 345 | 163 |
| 2019 | 334 | 160 |
| 2020 | 310 | 170 |
| 2021 | 273 | 199 |
| 2022 | 256 | 200 |
| 2023 | 252 | 198 |
| 2024 | 239 | 210 |
| 2025 | 298 | 170 |

## In other languages

- German: Speiser
- Greek: Οικονόμος
- Polish: Spencer

## People named Spencer

- Spencer Tracy, American actor (1900–1967)
- Spencer Perceval, 19th-century prime minister of the United Kingdom (1762–1812)
- Spencer Fullerton Baird, American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, museum curator, and the 2nd Secretary o
- Spencer Tunick, American photographer
- Spencer Breslin, American actor and musician
- Spencer Treat Clark, American actor
- Spencer Cox, 18th Governor of Utah since 2021
- Spencer Locke, American actress
- Patrick Spencer Johnson, American writer
- Spencer Grammer, American actress
- Spencer Gore, British tennis player (1850–1906)
- Spencer Abraham, American attorney, author and politician (born 1952)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.