Spence Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

Seen on a birth certificate or a ship's manifest, Spence is usually a form of Spencer. The family name meaning is “Steward, dispenser of provisions”, the same as for Spencer.

• The same family of names includes Spenser and Despencer.
• Before spelling was fixed, Spencer was also written Spence.
• Before spelling was standardised, one family could appear under several forms.

Family crest and blazon

Arms linked to Spencer and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to. For the full story, order the Spence surname pack.