Researching Herbert Spencer
Investigate the background of Herbert Spencer using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 27341 people with the Spencer surname? In that year Spencer was ranked number 116 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Herbert means "Bright, excellent army or ruler" and is of Teutonic origin.
Records of Herbert Spencer on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Herbert Spencer in your family tree. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Herbert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Herbert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Herbert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Herbert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Herbert Spencer. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Spencer ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Spencer Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Herbert Spencer and the Spencer Family Tree
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Spencer Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Spencer family tree.
Explore Parish Records for Herbert Spencer at Find My Past.
Investigate for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Herbert Spencer using the FreeBMD database.
Investigate Genealogy Bank for Herbert Spencer records.
Check out MyHeritage for Herbert Spencer information.
Explore the LDS Database for records about Herbert Spencer.
Research the Spencer surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Spencer Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 33799 people with the Spencer surname in the UK? Spencer is now ranked number 137 for popularity in the UK. |
Spencer Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Explore the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Herbert Spencer.
Study MyTrees for information on the Spencer family and people looking to contact living Spencer relations.
Explore One Great Family for Spencer records submitted by people who are already researching the Spencer Family Tree.
Find Herbert Spencer from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Spencer Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Spencer surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 173180 people with the Spencer surname in the USA? Spencer is ranked number 100 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Spencer Databases
Search the Ellis Island Database for information on Herbert Spencer. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism whereby superior physical force shapes history. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The term strongly suggests natural selection, yet Spencer saw evolution as extending into realms of sociology and ethics, so he also supported Lamarckism.
Spencer developed an all-embracing conception of evolution as the progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and societies. As a polymath, he contributed to a wide range of subjects, including ethics, religion, anthropology, economics, political theory, philosophy, literature, astronomy, biology, sociology, and psychology. During his lifetime he achieved tremendous authority, mainly in English-speaking academia. "The only other English philosopher to have achieved anything like such widespread popularity was Bertrand Russell, and that was in the 20th century." Spencer was "the single most famous European intellectual in the closing decades of the nineteenth century" but his influence declined sharply after 1900: "Who now reads Spencer?" asked Talcott Parsons in 1937.
Source: Herbert Spencer, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Spencer
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Sabbins Sabinash Sapienza Sappington Savins Scapens Schapansky Schepenka Schepens Schibinger Schippang Schuffenecker Schweppenheiser Scoffins Seffinga Seifenmacher Sevenoak Sevenoaks Seyfang Shavinsky Shuping Sibbons Sibennist Siebemust Siebeneicher Siebenius Siebens Siebenwist Siebinkist Skeffington Skevington Skiffington Skipping Skippings Skivington Skupinski Skupnick Sobanski Soeffing Spain-Gower Spancake Spancock Spang Spangenberg Spangenburg Spangle Spangler Spanick Spanjer Spankie Spannagel Spannaus Spanswick Spence Spencelayh Spenceley Spencely Spencers Spenclay Spencley Spencock Spencook Spengal Spengall Spengel Spengell Spengil Spengill Spengler Spenkuch Spennock Spenos Spens Spenser Spensley Spensly Spenst Sphinxe Spinage Spinas Spincer Spincke Spincks Spinige Spink Spinke Spinkles Spinks Spinnace Spinozzi Spinser Spinucci Spinuzzi Sponaugle Spones Spong Sponsel Sponseller Sponsler Sponza Spungin Spyncks Spynks Supinger Svang Sveinsson Svensdotter Svenson Svensson Swepenizer Szczepanek Szczepaniak Szczepanski Szczpanski





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