# Spenser (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/spenser/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an occupation, variant of Spencer, a rare spelling variant of Spencer.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 670 |
| US rank (2010) | 33,941 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 460,814 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.2% (625 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈspɛnsɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Spencer |

## Etymology

From Middle English Spenser, from Middle English spenser (“spencer”), from spense (“spence”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Spenser in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 66% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 22% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0% |
| Two or more races | 5.5% |

## Similar surnames

Spencer, Spence, Spangler, Spengler, Sponseller, Sponsler, Spencer-Churchill, Spinks, Sappington, Spink, Sapienza, Szczepanski.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.