Spencer
Torn between Spencer and another name? Compare them side by side →
The story
Spencer’s old job was dispensing provisions; Spencer Silver’s famous material turned out to be good at letting go. The English surname comes from Middle English spense, a larder or pantry, and refers to the person who distributed supplies. The surname entered another kind of public history with Diana Frances Spencer, later Diana, Princess of Wales, while actor Spencer Tracy became a two-time Academy Award winner. Silver, a scientist at 3M, discovered an adhesive that held lightly and peeled apart while researchers were seeking stronger ones. Its useful problem arrived through his colleague Art Fry, whose paper bookmarks slipped from his hymnal between choir practice and the service. Fry remembered Silver’s adhesive and saw a way to keep his place without damaging the page. They developed the product together, and office messages revealed a use beyond bookmarks. Post-it Notes grew from that meeting of material and need: a little adhesion, enough to hold a place, with the freedom to lift it again.
How popular is Spencer around the world?
In the United States, 7,158 babies were named Spencer between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 14 boys were registered as Spencer in 2017.
Spencer is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, New South Wales, Scotland, England and Wales, Canada, Ireland, France, Austria, Poland and Brazil.
United States
1 in 3,000
In the United States, 7,158 babies were named Spencer between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Spencer peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Spencer went to 1,672 US babies in 2015 and 1,153 in 2025, 69% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 1,1002017
In South Australia, 14 boys were registered as Spencer in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 1,200
In New Zealand, 49 boys named Spencer were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
New South Wales
#47 · 2025
In New South Wales, 148 boys named Spencer were registered in 2025, ranked 47th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 1,600
In Scotland, 28 boys named Spencer were registered in 2024, the 160th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 1,900
In England and Wales, 298 boys named Spencer were born in 2025, the 170th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 2,700
In Canada, 106 boys named Spencer were born in 2024, the 311th most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 32 girls named Spencer were born in 2024, the 870th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 6,800
In Ireland, 8 boys named Spencer were born in 2025, the 432nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
France
1 in 64,000
In France, about 10 boys named Spencer were born in 2025, ranked 2,176th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Spencer was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 boys named Spencer were born in 2025, the 705th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 203 people in Brazil were named Spencer, ranked 25,129th, with a median age of 43.
Among people named Spencer living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
last on record 2019
Spencer is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Spencer is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 1989
Spencer is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Spain and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Spencer
Most people given the name Spencer in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Spencer you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Spencer · Names that go with Spencer · Nicknames for Spencer · Climbers and fallers
The Spencer deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Spencer truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Spencer fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Spencer fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Spencer to your family’s tree →