Spencer (also Spenser) is a surname, representing the court title dispenser, or steward. An early example is Robert d'Abbetot, who is listed as Robert le Dispenser ('the steward'), a tenant-in-chief of several counties, in the Domesday Book of 1086. In early times the surname was usually written as le Despenser, Dispenser or Despencer—notably in works such as the Domesday Book and the Scottish Ragman Rolls of 1291 and 1296, but gradually lost both the "le" article and the unstressed first syllable of the longer surname to become Spencer.