American Family Name Origins:
Spencer
Frequency: (45592)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
English: occupational name for someone employed in the pantry of a great house or monastery, from Middle English spense ‘larder’ + the agent suffix -er.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
