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    The surname Spence

    A surname, carried by 36,129 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈspɛns/ 1 syllable Soundex S152

    Spence: #964 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Spence #964, 36,129 people Spence: #964 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Spence #964, 36,129 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Spence is more common than 99.4% of them.

    Origin

    A surname.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 36,129 people named Spence in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,546 Americans. That is up 4.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 34,435.

    #964
    rank among US surnames
    36,129
    people in 2010
    12
    per 100,000 Americans
    +4.9%
    change since 2000 (was #928)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #955Coffey36,4238,477
    #956Estes36,3188,501
    #957Sanford36,3128,503
    #958Burch36,2698,513
    #959Maddox36,2508,517
    #960Vo36,2368,520
    #961O'Connell36,1948,530

    Who is named Spence

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    72% of people named Spence identified as white (not Hispanic), 22% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 72%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 22%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Spences

    14 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Michael Spence
      American economist (born 1943)
    • Frances Spence
      American physicist and computer scientist, 1922–2012
    • Errol Spence
      American boxer, born 1990
    • Jonathan Spence
      British-born historian, 1936–2021
    • Lewis Spence
      British academic (1874-1955)
    • William Spence
      British economist and entomologist, 1782–1860
    • Gerry Spence
      American lawyer, 1929–2025
    • John S. Spence
      American politician (1788-1840)
    • John Spence
      American musician (1969–1987)
    • Steve Spence
      American athletics competitor (born 1962)
    • Skylar Spence
      American electronic music producer, born 1993
    • Floyd Spence
      American politician (1928–2001)

    Notable Spences come mostly from the United States (12) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Spence

    Spence has the Soundex code S152, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S152.

    Questions

    How common is the surname Spence?
    36,129 people in the United States had the surname Spence in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,546 Americans. It ranked 964th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Spence?
    In the 2010 Census, 72% of people named Spence identified as white (not Hispanic), and 22% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Spence?
    Michael Spence, American economist (born 1943), followed by Frances Spence.
    Where is the surname Spence most common?
    Wikidata records people named Spence in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
    How do you pronounce Spence?
    Spence is /ˈspɛns/, one syllable.
    Is the surname Spence getting more or less common?
    More common. 34,435 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 36,129 in 2010, up 4.9%.
    Is Spence also a first name?
    Yes. Spence is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.