Spicer
An occupational surname for a spice dealer or grocer.
The #1,951 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,688 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Spicer comes from a medieval occupation name meaning a dealer in spices. It goes back to Middle English spicer(e) and Anglo-French espicer, built from Old French espice, “spice,” plus an agent suffix. The deeper Latin root is tied to species, used in a commercial sense for goods or wares.
History
The name is well attested in medieval England and appears in early records in forms such as le Spicer and Lespicer. It was especially common as a job-based surname in areas where trade and market activity were important, and later became established as a hereditary family name. Modern spelling has stayed relatively stable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older English usage, a “spicer” was closer to a grocer or spice merchant than to a modern spice seller alone.
From the historical record
“SPICER (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Dealer in Spices [M.E. spicer(e, spycer, A.-Fr. espicer (Fr. spicier, grocer) ; O.Fr. espice, spice + the agent, suff. -er (Lat. -aris) ; Lat. species, with subsid. meaning 'merchandise'] Richard Lespicer. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)