Explore the Family Name Spender

The meaning of Spender

English: 1. occupational name or status name from Middle English spender(e), spendour ‘steward, treasurer’, a shortened form of Middle English, Old French despendour, denoting someone who managed money or supplies. Compare Spencer. 2. alternatively, perhaps a nickname from Middle English spender(e), spendour ‘spender (of money), spendthrift’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Spender in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Spender has seen a decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 116,123rd most popular surname, but by 2010, its rank had dropped to 140,157, marking a 20.7% decline. The total count of individuals bearing the surname also decreased from 139 in 2000 to 119 in 2010, a fall of 14.39%. Furthermore, the proportion of the surname per 100,000 people fell by 20% during this decade, moving from 0.05 to 0.04.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#116,123	#140,157	-20.7%
Count	139	119	-14.39%
Proportion per 100k	0.05	0.04	-20%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Spender

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data illustrates that the majority of individuals with the surname Spender identify as white. This group increased slightly from 92.09% in 2000 to 94.12% in 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black represented 5.76% of Spenders in 2000, but this proportion decreased to 4.20% in 2010, a change of -27.08%. There were no recorded Spenders who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native for either year. Moreover, there were no individuals who identified as being of two or more races.

	2000	2010	Change
White	92.09%	94.12%	2.2%
Black	5.76%	4.2%	-27.08%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%