Spencer (surname)
| Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Family name | |
| Pronunciation | spènser, /ˈspɛnsər/ spEnser |
| Meaning | derived from the Old French despensier, a steward |
| Region of origin | England |
| Related names | , Spender, Espencer, Spence, Spens |
| Footnotes: | |
Spencer (also Spence, Spender, , and ) is a surname, representing the court title dispenser, or steward. An early example is Robert d'Abbetot, who is listed as Robert le Dispenser ('the steward'), a tenant-in-chief of several counties, in the Domesday Book of 1086. In early times the surname was usually written as le Despenser, Dispenser or Despencer—notably in works such as the Domesday Book and the Scottish Ragman Rolls of 1291 and 1296, but gradually lost both the "le" article and the unstressed first syllable of the longer surname to become Spencer.
As an occupational surname, Despenser/Spencer families would have originated in a range of different jusrisdictions, and the possession of the shared surname is not an indication of genealogical relationship. The surname Spencer has gained in frequency over time. In the 19th century it also become popular as a given name—especially in the more anglicised areas of the United States.
In its transition from the French dispencier to its current form, the name Spencer has been presented and spelled in many ways—especially through the period of its early evolution in the medieval period from c.1100 to 1350 AD. The following (in alphabetical order) is a selection of the many orthographic variants:
Despencer,de Expansa (derived from expence),De Spencer,de Spendure,de Spens, de la Despense,De la Spence,de la Spense,del Spens,Despenser,DeSpenser, Dispencer,Dispenser,Despensator,Dispensator,la Spens, le Despencer,le Despendur,le Despencer,le Despenser,le dispencer,le Espencer,le Espenser,le Spencer,le Spendur,Spendure,le Spenser,le Spensier,Spence,Spences, Spen, Spender, Spens,Spensar,Spense,Spenser,Spensers, Spensor, Spincer, also the rare patronymic Spencers, and the aphetic (derived) Spender.
Within a few generations the le ("the") usually placed before Despenser was omitted. The name variant Spens first appears as Simon del Spens, dated 1300, in the "Charters of Gisburn Priory", Yorkshire, England, during the reign of Edward I.Spence, another form of Spens, means both "the place where provisions are kept" and the "clerk of the kitchen". This form of the name was popular in both the north of England and in Scotland. In Fife the word referred to "a spare room beside the kitchen", and in England to a "yard, enclosure or buttery"—simply an abbreviation of despencer referring to the household store. The principal Scottish family of Clan Spens descend from one of the ancient Earls of Fife. John "Dispensator or Le Dispenser" appeared in a list of the tenants and vassals of Walter fitz Alan High Steward of Scotland in the period 1161–1171. Roger 'Dispensator' witnessed a charter by Bricius de Douglas, the bishop of Moray granting the church of Deveth to Spynie between 1202 and 1222. The family de Spens in Fife trace their ancestry back to 1170 and the "Baron de Spens d'Estignols", who settled in France in 1450, and "the Count de Spens, who ranked among the first of the Swedish nobility and was generalissimo of the Swedish forces". As a north country word for 'pantry', spence was used by Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson in the sense of a refectory: "Bluff Harry broke into the spence and turn'd the cowls adrift" (The Talking Oak, l.47.).
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