Wilbur
Masculine · “not settled”
Wilbur is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 56,906 boys against 290 girls since 1880.
Wilbur is a surname turned given name, and it is attached in the public mind to one specific pair of brothers and the first powered flight.
How old is the name Wilbur?
Wilbur was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Wilbur alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 12,500 people named Wilbur are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wilbur most popular?
Wilbur peaked in 1913, reaching #91 nationally. Today it ranks #3949, 3,858 places below that high. See the whole 1913 chart.
Wilbur appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Wildbor to Wilbur
The story of Wilbur
The name existed quietly as an English surname and a New England given name before the twentieth century, and then two bicycle mechanics from Ohio flew a powered machine on a North Carolina beach. Wilbur was the elder brother. The name moved through American birth records in the years after in the way that names attached to a single astonishing event do, and it has never entirely separated from aviation since.
Meaningscholars disagree
not settled
Two derivations compete. The surname is usually traced to a medieval English personal name Wildbor, of uncertain sense, sometimes read as 'wild boar'. It is also derived from a Germanic compound of wil, 'will', with a second element that has not been fixed. Neither reading is secure.
How the name formed
- Wildbor
- Wilbur
Pronouncing Wilbur
WIL-bur
Two syllables, stress on the first. Both halves are said as they look.
Nicknames for Wilbur
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19181,800 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #91reached in 1913
- Change vs 2022
- −10.0%27 in 2025, from 30
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Wilbur in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania.
Wilburs among us
people named Wilbur are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 63,262 born in 2025 was named Wilbur
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Wilbur sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Wilbur is headed
Wilbur looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 22% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Wilbur beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wilbur in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Will is a ready and extremely common short form, so the child has an ordinary everyday name available from the start.
- It carries a genuine and specific piece of history that a child can be proud of.
- Two syllables, phonetic spelling, no variants to correct.
- Wilbur is also the pig in Charlotte's Web, which for many American readers is the first and warmest association but is still a pig.
- The etymology is unsettled, so a family wanting a clear meaning will not get one here.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Wilbur to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Wilbur
Masculine · #3949 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wilburs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 12,500 people named Wilbur are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wilbur in 2025?
- Wilbur ranks #3949 among US boy names in 2025, with 27 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wilbur?
- About 1 in every 63,262 US boys born in 2025 was named Wilbur — 27 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wilbur with classmates?
- Wilbur will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wilbur
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stewart#3949 · Tillman#3949 · Ashley#3949 · Alfonzo#3949 · Blane#3949 · Brayton#3949 · Omega#3949 · Rufus#3949
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wilbur? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wilbur and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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