The Spector surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,622 people carried this name — #7,221 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 63,700 people counted. That is down 4% from 4,811 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Spector surname

From Yiddish ספּעקטאָר (spektor), an occupational surname for a teacher's assistant in a Jewish school.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Spector» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 164 people named Spector live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 81
Buenos Aires Province 28
Entre Ríos 20
Tucumán 18
Córdoba 17

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

101 people named Spector is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 101

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Spector in American newspapers,
1908.

Newspaper page from Sugar Planter carrying the name Spector
Sugar Planter 1908-12-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Spector in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

1,059 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Spector. The most, 124, date from the 1880s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 435
Victoria 308
Queensland 123
South Australia 80
Tasmania 56
Western Australia 47
ACT (Canberra) 5
Northern Territory 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Spector.

Who carried it

People named Spector,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mordecai Spector
    Mordecai Spector 1858–1925 · writer
  • Eliezer Doron
    Eliezer Doron 1910–1982 · writer
  • Frank Spector d. 1982
  • Woolf Spector d. 1912
  • Maurice Spector 1898–1968 · politician
  • Ivar Spector 1898–1989 · slavist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Spector,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,425 records

1,425 records of the Spector name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 570
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 363
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 291
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 104
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 57
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 39
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Mandell A. Spector

    Born 1906 in Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. Enlisted 1942 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; route man. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Pinchas Spector

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the Batavia from Hamburg, aged 40; printer. From Rosilow, Russia; bound for New York. Born in Kosilow, Russia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Martin Spector

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1888, died 1956; buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,425 records for Spector in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia3 records

3 records of the Spector name in Australia Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Michael John Spector

    Landscape gardener of Noble Park, Victoria; died 2000.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Louis David Spector

    Of Frankston, Victoria; died 1996.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Florence Ruby Spector

    Of Frankston, Victoria; died 1989.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France3 records

3 records of the Spector name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Abram Spector

    Born 1896 in Romania; died 1990 in Évry (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jacob Spector

    Born 1913 in Poland; died 1993 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Simon Spector

    Born 1911 in Poland; died 1991 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Spector name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Samuel Spector

    Died in service in 1943.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Joseph Spector

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Spector name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Otto Spector

    From Grünewahde. Reported taken prisoner in the Prussian casualty list of 24 July 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Spector.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Spector is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Spector volume
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