Spens Surname

444,536th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 768 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
United States Virgin Islands

Spens Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the spence.' The custodian of the store-room. A store-room, a store closet, in small farms a cupboard, v. Spencer.

Spens Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3281:1,105,05879,932
England1001:557,18134,216
Sweden711:138,6879,791
France631:1,054,329115,549
Belgium511:225,42428,627
Denmark501:112,89410,491
Scotland221:243,35512,191
Russia171:8,477,827301,506
Wales131:238,04114,239
Germany101:8,050,546248,660
Honduras81:1,102,0554,829
Liberia81:551,06725,208
Finland61:916,11741,832
Belarus31:3,167,020121,664
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Canada21:18,422,796409,488
Cameroon21:10,384,534165,830
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England321:761,73034,727
Scotland241:155,9676,425
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States351:1,434,82077,606

Spens (26) may also be a first name.

Spens Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the spence.' The custodian of the store-room. A store-room, a store closet, in small farms a cupboard, v. Spencer.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

From the office of custodian of the larder or provision-room, ME. Spence, spens(e

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

See SPENCE.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

= Spence, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English, Scottish) Custodian of a storage room for provisions; dweller near the place where provisions were stored.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

1. The same as Spens. 2. A yard or enclosure.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Jamieson gives the following definitions of Spens. 1. The place where provisions are kept. 2. The clerk of a kitchen. In the latter sense it is employed by Wyntoun. It is an ancient surname in Scotland. The Spenses of Lathallan trace continuously to the year 1296. "The Count de Spens, who ranked among the first of the Swedish nobility, and was generalissimo of their forces, sprang from this family." B.L.G.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

The family are descended from William de Spens of Lathallan in Fifeshire, 1392, who married Isabel, daughter and heiress of Duncan Campbell of Glen Douglas, in commemoration of which the family quarter the Campbell arms of gyronny of eight or and sable.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

An abbreviation of Spencer.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Spens Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Spens Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Spens (Hindi: स्पेन्स, Marathi: पेन्स, Russian: Спенс) is held by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also be rendered as:. Click here to see other possible spellings of Spens.

How Common Is The Last Name Spens? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 444,536th most frequently held last name world-wide. It is borne by approximately 1 in 9,488,992 people. Spens occurs predominantly in Europe, where 53 percent of Spens are found; 43 percent are found in North America and 43 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 2,084,397th most frequent first name in the world. It is borne by 26 people.

The last name Spens is most prevalent in The United States, where it is carried by 328 people, or 1 in 1,105,058. In The United States it is most frequent in: Michigan, where 31 percent live, Utah, where 30 percent live and Washington, where 8 percent live. Besides The United States it exists in 25 countries. It also occurs in England, where 13 percent live and Sweden, where 9 percent live.

Spens Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Spens has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Spens surname expanded 937 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 313 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it fell 8 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Spens Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the Spens last name is predominantly Presbyterian (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States Spens are 5.47% more likely to be registered Democrats than the national average, with 58.7% registered to vote for the party.

Spens earn around the same as the average income. In United States they earn 4.13% more than the national average, earning $44,932 USD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Spenst911,065/
Spaens91217/
Spense9172/
Spen's911/
Spoens911/
Spiens911/
Speens910/
Shpenst8357/
Schpens832/
Spensse831/
Spensce831/
Spyns8025/
Spenz804/
Spins804/
Spenx801/
Spence73100,165/
Spench739/
Spinns733/
Spenze733/
Spenje731/
Spenche674/
Speence673/
Spencht671/
Spinx6027/
Spinz606/
Spynz604/
Spnce601/
Spynx600/
Spince5515/
Spinze555/
Spinch551/
Spemce550/
Spintje505/

Spens Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Spens in the Hindi language
स्पेन्सspensa-
Spens in the Marathi language
पेन्सpensa-
Spens in the Russian language
Спенсspens-

Search for Another Surname

Spens Reference & Research

Spence FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Spence FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Spens
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis