Wilburt
Masculine · “Will and stronghold”
The Wright brothers tossed a coin for who would fly first, and the winner stalled the machine into the sand. Wilbur won the toss, pulled up too steeply, and broke the elevator; three days of repairs later it was Orville's turn, and Orville is the one in the photograph.
How old is the name Wilburt?
Wilburt first appears in US birth records in 1903 — 122 years ago. The typical Wilburt alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 400 people named Wilburt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wilburt most popular?
Wilburt peaked in 1917, reaching #1092 nationally. See the whole 1917 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Wilburh to Wilburt
The story of Wilburt
They were bicycle mechanics and that is why it worked. Everyone else was building stable machines that would fly themselves; the brothers, who spent their working lives with a vehicle that falls over unless the rider is actively balancing it, assumed an aircraft would be the same and set out to learn to steer one. That decision produced the wing-warping control that made the difference, and the wind tunnel they built to check other people's published figures showed that most of them were wrong. The first flights lasted seconds. The patent litigation lasted a decade and did more damage to American aviation than the technical problems ever had.
Meaningscholars disagree
Will and stronghold
Generally read as two Germanic elements, one about will or desire and one meaning a fortified place. A separate account derives it from an English surname about a wild boar. Both routes arrive at the same modern spelling and the American record does not distinguish them.
How the name formed
- Wilburh
- Wilbur
- Wilburt
Pronouncing Wilburt
WIL-burt
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second is reduced, which is why the added t is audible only if the speaker is being careful.
Nicknames for Wilburt
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
- 1903
- Most boys named
- 191832 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1092reached in 1917
- Change vs 1986
- −37.5%5 in 1987, from 8
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.
Wilburts among us
people named Wilburt are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Wilburt sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Two short forms in two quite different registers.
- The name it is built on has a documented English line running back a thousand years.
- Short, firm and easy to spell once heard.
- Wilbur is the standard form and will be written by anyone taking dictation.
- The added t belongs to no form of the name and looks like a slip.
- It is strongly dated to the early twentieth century in American records.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Wilburt to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Wilburt? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Wilburt
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Wilburts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Wilburt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wilburt in 2025?
- Wilburt is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Wilburt with classmates?
- Wilburt will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More W names
The most-given names starting with W, all years combined.
William#9 · Walter#251 · Willie#1315 · Wayne#652 · Wesley#52 · Wyatt#38 · Warren#240 · Wallace#960
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wilburt? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wilburt and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle