Spencer

An Irish surname of Cork and Dublin. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 139,951 people, the 199th most common surname in the country.

Mac Spealáin, Mac Spealláin, son of Spealán (diminutive of speal , a scythe)

Where the name comes from

Mac Spealáin is son of Spealán, a little scythe, a Leinster surname said to have been anglicised Spencer and Spenser. MacSpallane and MacSpollane are what it looks like undisguised.

Rugged Atlantic coastline at Allihies, Cork, Ireland, with layered slate cliffs, fine art landscape photograph by Peter Cox
Allihies Coast, Cork

The Spencer counties, photographed

Cork

Cork is the largest county in Ireland. Three peninsulas run west into the Atlantic: Beara, Sheep's Head and Mizen, with the population thinning the further out you go. My gallery is in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay, so it's the ground I photograph most.

Sunset over Dun an Oir ruins and sea stacks on Cape Clear Island, Cork, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDún an Óir, Cape Clear Island, Cork Co. Cork The Fastnet Lighthouse standing proud on a calm summer evening off West Cork in black and white panoramic viewThe Fastnet Lighthouse, Co. Cork Co. Cork Aerial view of the Fastnet Lighthouse surrounded by angry seas off West Cork with Cape Clear Island on the horizonThe Fastnet from the Air Co. Cork Inside the rotating lantern of the Fastnet Lighthouse with Fresnel lenses, ladder, and a rainbow projected on a poleInside the Lantern, the Fastnet Lighthouse, Co. Cork Co. Cork The winding Healy Pass road climbing through the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula, Cork on a cloudy dayThe Healy Pass, Co. Cork Co. Cork Long exposure of a small pier extending into a bay at sunset under heavy cloud, Lehanbeg, CorkLehanbeg Pier, Co. Cork Co. Cork Sunrise over Gougane Barra lake with mountains reflected in still water, County Cork, Ireland — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxA Morning at the Office, Gougane Barra, Co. Cork Co. Cork Long exposure of waves crashing against rocks at the Old Head of Kinsale lighthouse at dusk with its lantern shiningOld Head of Kinsale Lighthouse, Co. Cork Co. Cork

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizonThe Muglins by Moonlight II Co. Dublin Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin Heron fishing at dawn on the Dublin coast — fine art wildlife photograph by Peter CoxHeron, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

All Cork prints · All Dublin prints

Notable bearers

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), writer, journalist, and author.

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), writer, journalist, and author.

Octavia Spencer (born 1970), film actor, television actor, and film director.

Jesse Spencer (born 1979), actor, musician, and film editor.

Baldwin Spencer (born 1948), politician.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Williams · Davis · Edwards · Cooper · Kelly · Cox · Brooks · Wood · James · Price · Butler · Jordan

How common the name was

In 1890, 19 births were registered under Spencer in Ireland, most of them in Cork and Dublin.

Leinster 10
Munster 7
Connacht no figure printed
Ulster no figure printed
Ireland 19