| Pronunciation | spènser,/ˈspɛnsər/ spEnser |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name |
|
| Meaning | derived from theOld French "despensier", asteward |
| Region of origin | England |
| Other names | |
| Variant forms | Spenser,Spender, Espencer, Spence, Spens |
| Related names | Speiser (German), Economos (Greek) |
Spencer (alsoSpenser) is asurname, representing the court titledispenser, orsteward. An early example isRobert d'Abbetot,[1][2][3] who is listed as Robert le Dispenser ('the steward'), a tenant-in-chief of several counties, in theDomesday Book of 1086. In early times, the surname was usually written asle Despenser,Dispenser orDespencer—notably in works such as the Domesday Book and the ScottishRagman 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 jurisdictions, 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 theFrenchdispencier to its current form, the nameSpencer has been presented and spelled in many ways—especially through the period of its early evolution in the medieval period fromc. 1100 to 1350 CE. The following (in alphabetical order) is a selection of the many orthographic variants:
Despencer,[4]de Expansa (derived from expence),[5]De Spencer,de Spendure,[6]de Spens,de la Despense,[6][7]De la Spence,[8]de la Spense,[6]del Spens,[6]Despenser,[4][9]DeSpenser,Dispencer,[10]Dispenser,[9]Despensator,[9]Dispensator,[10]la Spens, le Despencer,[10]le Despendur,[6]le Despencer,[11]le Despenser,[11][12]le dispencer,le Espencer,[13]le Espenser,[13]le Spencer,[14]le Spendur,[6]Spendure,[6]le Spenser,[14]le Spensier,[13]Spence,[6][10][15]Spences, Spen, Spens,[6][10]Spensar,Spense,[6]Spenser,[10]Spensers,Spensor,Spincer, also the rarepatronymicSpencers,[6] and theaphetic (derived)Spender.[6]
The surnamesStewart andStuart denote essentially the same occupation but have a completely different word derivation. They originate from the pre-7th-century English wordsstigweard – a compound ofstig meaning 'household', andweard, meaning 'guardian'.[16]
Foreign equivalents:
The nameSpencer can be traced through itsLatin and Frenchroots to itsMiddle English and modern form.[17]
Robert d'Abbetot[nb 1] was granted titles, lands and a high position in William's court. In addition to his position as steward, he also was given land grants in county Bedford. He held his office for the period c.1088–1098.[18]
In England, Robert was best known by his occupation, and hence became known as Robert le Despenser (many spelling variants of this name exist including Robert the Dispensor, Robert Despensator,[9] Robert Dispenser[19]), which reflected his new official position,[20] of using apatronymic, as Robert fitzThurstin.[18] He seems to have maintained his favor with William because in theDomesday Book of 1086, Robert Despenser was listed as a land tenant-in-chief inGloucestershire,Leicestershire,Lincolnshire,Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire, as well as holding lands inWorcestershire obtained from the Bishop of Worcester.[18]
Robert is assumed to have died shortly after restoring some estates toWestminster Abbey[18] but he appears to have had no legitimate male children, as his heir was his brotherUrse d'Abetot.[21] He may have had a daughter, as some of his lands were inherited by theMarmion family, but it is also possible that a daughter of Urse married into the Marmion family.[20] Robert's office as the king's steward may also have gone to Urse, as it was later held by Urse'sheirs. Subsequent bearers of the Despenser or Spencer surname would not descend from Robert.
The steward ofWilliam II of England was Thurstan,Dispensator Regis (royal steward). His son Hugh wasDispensator Regis in 1105 underHenry I, and was followed by his son or brother, Simon,Dispensator Regis for Henry andStephen. Simon was father of a second Thurstan, who was active in the 1250s underHenry II, to be followed by his son Walter asDispensator Regis. Walter was succeeded by his brother Aymer,Dispensator Regis under kingJohn, and Aymer's son Thurstan le Despenser, who served underHenry III, dying in 1249. He was followed by a son, Adam le Despenser, who was summoned byEdward I of England to perform military service and in 1283 to attend on the king in what was a precursor to the first royally-convened Parliament. His heir was a son, Aymer le Despenser, but he alienated his lands and titles during the reign ofEdward II.[22][23][24]
In the early 13th century, a family that had been stewards to theEarls of Chester rose to prominence.[25]Hugh le Despenser (died 1238) becameHigh Sheriff of Berkshire, and his son,Hugh becameJusticiar of England and was summoned in 1264 to the Parliament ofSimon de Montfort asLord Despencer. His son also namedHugh was createdEarl of Winchester, while a descendant was madeEarl of Gloucester. The family experienced a number of attainders, restorations, and creations of new lordships over the 13th and 14th centuries, with a claim to the last creation passing by marriage to the Wentworth family in the 15th century. The initial establishment was brought out of abeyance in favour of a female-line descendant in 1604, from which time the title of Baron le Despencer has descended to the currentViscount Falmouth.
The Englisharistocratic Spencer family has resided at their ancestral home atAlthorp,Northamptonshire, since the early 16th century. The Estate now covers 14,000 acres (57 km2) in Northamptonshire,Warwickshire andNorfolk. From pre-Tudor times the Spencers had been farmers, coming to prominence in Warwickshire in the 15th century whenJohn Spencer becamefeoffee ofWormleighton in 1469, and a tenant at Althorp in 1486. His nephew, another John, used the gains from trade in livestock and commodities to buy both properties. He was knighted in 1504 and died in 1522. John's descendants expanded the family holdings through business dealings and marriage into the peerage. The family is related through marriage to the Churchills ofBlenheim Palace, a line that included theDukes of Marlborough andWinston Churchill. From the Althorp line came theEarls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, and theEarls Spencer. The family captured international attention whenLady Diana Frances Spencermarried Prince Charles on 29 July 1981, until herdeath in a car crash inParis on 31 August 1997.[26]
The varied origins of people with the Spencer and Despenser surnames means that they are not all members of the same family, and each individual family would have distinct coats of arms, while most Spencers are not entitled to bear any arms. The family of the King's Dispensers bore anermine shield withchief of unknowntincture.[22] The Lords Despencer bore arms from the early days of heraldry, which are one of a family of quarterly arms seen among the vassals of the Earls of Chester. Scholars have suggested a possible derivation from those of the Dutton family,[27] or from the family of their one-time feudal overlords, Beauchamp of Bedford, whose own arms belonged to a shared group of similar bearings among Mandeville and Vere family vassals and descendants.[28] They are described in the language ofheraldry asquarterly: 1st & 4th, Argent; 2nd & 3rd, Gules a fret or, over all a bend sable. In 1504, John Spencer of Althorp was granted for himself and his brother the arms:azure, a fess ermine between sixsea-mews' heads erased argent, and in 1564 a descendant of his uncle was granted:sable, on a fess or, between 3 bezants, as many lions heads of the first. As the end of the century approached, however, the family's growing social status would lead them to adopt a forged pedigree that gave them an ancient derivation, and they began using new arms that represented a claimed kinship with the (actually entirely unrelated) Lords Despencer, modifying the earlier family's quarterly arms by the addition of threeescallops (scallop shells).[29] Numerous variations of this differenced coat, along with various Spencer arms bearing no resemblance to those of the Lords le Despenser, have been catalogued.[30]
The greatest density of Spencers in present-day England is in Nottinghamshire, followed by Derbyshire. Derby and Notts were closely connected at the time of Domesday, and up until the time of Elizabeth I had the same Sheriff.[31]
In North America early settlement of Spencers date to Thomas Spencer in Virginia in 1623; William Spencer, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1630; Thomas Spencer, Maine 1630. Col.Nicholas Spencer arrived in Virginia in the 1650s and subsequently served asActing Governor.
Spencers arriving in Australia with the convicts of theFirst Fleet in 1788 were Daniel Spencer from Dorchester, John Spencer, and Mary Spence from Wigan.[32] With theThird Fleet in 1791 came John Spencer from Lancaster and Thomas Spencer from London.[33]
