Spencer (given name) explained

Spencer
Gender:	Unisex
Language:	English
Meaning:	"dispenser of provisions"
Nickname:	Spence

Spencer is a given name of British origin, that means "steward" or "administrator". It is a shortened form of the English word dispenser, which derives from Anglo-French dispensour, from Old French dispenseor, from Latin dispensatorem, the agent noun of dispensare, meaning "to disperse, administer, and distribute (by weight)".^[1] The name originated as the surname Spencer, but later gradually came to be used as a given name as well.

From its origin as a surname, it has been given to both males and females,^[2] but it has historically been more common as a name for males.^[2] According to the Social Security Administration of the United States, its popularity as a male given name began increasing steadily in the early twentieth century^[2] and spiked dramatically in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.^[2] Its usage peaked in 1998 with 4,619 baby boys named Spencer in that year.^[2] In the late 2000s, the name's popularity for male infants declined and plateaued between roughly 1,400 - 1,500 boys named Spencer each year.^[2]

Its usage as a female given name began to gradually increase in the late 1970s before suddenly taking off in the mid-1980s.^[2] Female usage of the name declined in the late 2000s,^[2] but has been rising rapidly since 2009.^[2] 244 baby girls were named Spencer in 2016.^[2]

List of persons with the given name

A

• Spencer Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
  • Spencer Abbott (baseball) (1877–1951), American baseball player
  • Spencer Abbott (ice hockey) (born 1988), Canadian ice hockey player
• Spencer Abraham (born 1952), American politician
• Spencer Ackerman, American journalist
• Spencer Adams (1898–1970), American baseball player
• Spencer Adkins (born 1987), American football player
• Spencer Albee (born 1976), American musician
• Spencer Allen (1893–1978), English cricketer
• Spencer Anderson (born 2000), American football player
• Spencer Antle (born 1969), American fashion designer
• Spencer Armstrong (born 1986), Canadian football player
• Spencer Asah (died 1954), American painter
• Spencer Austen-Leigh (1834-1913), English cricketer

B

• Spencer Bachus (born 1947), American politician
• Spencer Banks (born 1954), British television actor
• Spencer Batiste (born 1945), British politician
• Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823–1887), American ornithologist
• Spencer Barrett (ecologist) (born 1948), Canadian ecologist
• Spencer Bayles, British musician and former Guinness World Record holder
• Spencer Bedford (1851-1933), English-born Canadian politician
• Spencer Bell (actor) (1887-1935), American actor
• Spencer Gordon Bennet (1893–1987), American director
• Spencer John Bent (1891–1977), British army officer
• Spencer Bernard, American musician and songwriter
• Spencer Bernard (politician) (1918-2001), American politician
• Spencer Black (born 1950), American politician
• Spencer Bloch (born 1944), American mathematician
• Spencer Bohren (1950–2019), American musician
• Spencer Boldman (born 1992), American actor
• Spencer Breslin (born 1992), American actor and musician
• Spencer Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
• Spencer Burford (born 2000), American football player
• Spencer Butterfield (born 1992), American basketball player

C

• Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (1833–1908), British politician
• Spencer Chamberlain (born 1983), American singer for the Christian post-hardcore band Underoath
• Spencer Chan (1892–1988), American character actor
• Spencer Charrington (1818–1904), British politician
• Spencer Charters (1875–1943), American actor
• Spencer Christian (born 1947), American television personality
• Spencer Clark (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
  • Spencer M. Clark (1811–1890), American National Currency Bureau Superintendent
  • Spencer Treat Clark (born 1987), American actor
  • Spencer Clark (musician) (1908–1998), American jazz musician
  • Spencer Clark (racer) (1987–2006), American race car driver
• Spencer Coggs (born 1949), American politician
• Spencer Compton (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
  • Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (1673–1743), British politician
  • Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (1601–1643), British politician
  • Spencer Compton, 8th Earl of Northampton (1738–1796), British politician
  • Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (1790–1851), British nobleman
  • Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton (born 1946), British nobleman
• Spencer J. Condie (born 1940), American leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Spencer Houghton Cone (1785–1855), American child prodigy and Baptist chaplain
• Spencer Cowper (1670–1728), British politician
• Spencer Cozens (born 1965), English musician
• Spencer Crakanthorp (1885–1936), Australian chess player

D

• Spencer Daniels (born 1992), American actor
• Spencer Davey (born 1983), British rugby player
• Spencer Davis (1939–2020), British musician
• Spencer de Grey (born 1944), British architect
• Spencer Dickinson (politician), American politician
• Spencer Dinwiddie, American basketball player
• Spencer Dryden (1938–2005), American musician

E

• Spencer Eccles (born 1934), American philanthropist
• Spencer Elden (born 1991), American model and artist
• Spencer Evans (born 1973), Welsh soccer player

F

• Spencer Fearon (born 1962), British media personality
• Spencer Finch, American artist
• Spencer Fisher (born 1976), American mixed martial arts fighter
• Spencer O. Fisher (1843–1919), American politician
• Spencer Folau (born 1973), Tongan-born American football player
• Spencer Ford (born 1976), American lacrosse player
• Spencer Ford (American football), American college football coach
• Spencer Fox (born 1993), American actor
• Spencer Freedman (born 1998), American college basketball player for the Harvard Crimson and NYU Violets

G

• Spencer Garrett (born 1963), American actor
• Spencer Gollan (1860–1934), New Zealand athlete
• Spencer Gore (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
  • Spencer Gore (sportsman) (1850–1906), British athlete
  • Spencer Gore (artist) (1878–1914), British painter
• Spencer Grammer (born 1983), American actress

H

• Spencer Hall (1805–1875), British librarian
• Spencer Hastings, a character in the Freeform show Pretty Little Liars and the books they are inspired by
• Spencer Havner (born 1983), American football player
• Spencer Hawes (born 1988), American basketball player
• Spencer Hays (1936–2017), American businessman and art collector
• Spencer Haywood (born 1949), American basketball player
• Spencer Heath (1876–1963), American anarchist, engineer, attorney, inventor, manufacturer, poet, philosopher and social thinker
• Spencer Heath (baseball) (1893–1930), American baseball player
• Spencer Chandra Herbert (born 1981), Canadian politician
• Spencer Edmund Hollond (1874–1950), British World War I army officer
• Spencer Holst (1926–2001), American writer
• Spencer B. Horn (1895–1969), British soldier and World War I flying ace
• Spencer Horsey de Horsey (1790–1860), British politician
• Spencer Horwitz (born 1997), American MLB first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays
• Spencer Howard (born 1996), American professional baseball player
• Spencer Howson (born 1972), British-born Australian radio personality

J

• Spencer James (born 1953), British musician
• Spencer Jarnagin (1792–1853), American politician
• Spencer Johnson (disambiguation), multiple people
• Spencer Jones (disambiguation), multiple people

K

• Spencer Kayden (born 1968), American actress
• Spencer Kelly (born 1973), British television personality
• Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), American president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Spencer Matthews King (1917–1988), Puerto Rican-born American Ambassador
• Spencer Kobren, American businessman, author and radio personality
• Spencer Krug (born 1977), Canadian singer, songwriter and keyboardist

L

• Spencer Lanning (born 1988), American gridiron football punter
• Spencer Larsen (born 1984), American football fullback
• Spencer List (born April 6, 1998), American actor
• Spencer Lister (1876–1939), English-born South African doctor and bacteriologist
• Spencer Locke (born 1991), American actress
• Spencer G. Lucas, American paleontologist

M

• Spencer G. Millard (1856–1895), American politician
• Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1850–1931), British botanist

N

• Spencer Nelson (born 1980), American Gaelic games champion

O

• Spencer Odom (1913-1962), pianist-arranger
• R. Spencer Oliver (born 1938), American government staffer and diplomat
• Spencer Oliver (born 1975), English former professional boxer
• Spencer Overton (born 1968), American lawyer
• Spencer O'Brien (born 1988), Canadian snowboarder

P

• Spencer J. Palmer (1927–2000), American historian and chronicler of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Spencer Patton (born 1988), American professional baseball player
• Spencer Penrose (1865–1939), American philanthropist
• Spencer Perceval (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
  • Spencer Perceval (1762–1812), British Prime Minister
  • Spencer Perceval (junior) (1795–1859), British politician
  • Spencer George Perceval (1838–1922), English geologist and antiquary
• Spencer Petras (born 1999), American football player
• Spencer Darwin Pettis (1802–1831), American politician
• Spencer Ponsonby-Fane (1824–1915), British cricketer and civil servant
• Spencer Pope (1893–1976), American football player
• Spence Powell (1903–1970), Australian politician
• Spencer Pratt (born 1983), American actor
• Spencer Prior (born 1971), English soccer player
• Spencer Pumpelly (born 1974), American race car driver

R

• Spencer Rattler (born 2000), American football player
• Spencer Redford (born 1983), American former actress and singer
• Spencer Reid (born 1981), a character in the CBS show Criminal Minds
• Spencer Rice (born 1967), Canadian writer, director, producer, and comedian
• Spencer Ross (born 1940), American sportscaster

S

• Spencer Sanders (born 1999), American football player
• Spencer Schnell (born 1994), American football player
• Spencer Scott (born 1989), American model, pornographic actress, and Playboy Playmate
• Spencer Gene Settles (born 1953), American football player
• Spencer Shrader (born 1999), American football player
• Spencer Smith (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
• Spencer Sotelo (born 1987), American singer
• Spencer Stastney (born 2000), American ice hockey player
• Spencer Stone (born 1992), American U.S. Air Force staff sergeant

T

• Spencer Tracy (1900–1967), American actor
• Spencer Tunick (born 1967), American photographer
• Spencer Turnbull (born 1992), American baseball player

V

• Spencer Verbiest (born 1984), Belgian soccer player

W

• Spencer Horatio Walpole (1806–1898), British politician
• Spencer Weir-Daley (born 1985), British soccer player
• Spencer Weisz, American-Israeli basketball player
• Spencer Wells (born 1969), American geneticist and anthropologist
• Spencer West (born 1981), American motivational speaker and disability advocate
• Spencer Williams (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
  • Spencer Williams (1889–1965), American jazz musician
  • Spencer Mortimer Williams (1922–2008), American federal judge
  • Spencer Williams (actor) (1893–1969), American actor

Fictional characters

• Spencer, a character from the British television series Thomas & Friends
• Spencer Carlin, a character from the American teen drama television series South of Nowhere
• Spencer Gray, a character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks
• Spencer Hastings, a character from the American teen drama Pretty Little Liars
• Spencer Reid, a character from the American police-procedural television program Criminal Minds
• Spencer Ricks, a character from the American TV program Charmed
• Spencer Rosegunde Thomas, a character from the American radio and television Western drama series Gunsmoke
• Spencer Shay, a character from the American teen sitcom iCarly
• Spencer Walsh, a character from the American sitcom Good Luck Charlie

Spencer the Painter, a character from the British children's television programme, Balamory

Notes and References

1. Web site: Harper. Douglas. Dispenser. Online Etymology Dictionary. etymonline.com. 2018-01-06. 2018-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20180106231747/https://www.etymonline.com/word/dispenser. live.
2. Web site: Spencer. The Name Meaning. 23 May 2014. thenamemeaning.com. 6 January 2018. 4 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171104120652/http://www.thenamemeaning.com/spencer/. live.