Wilbur
English surname name usually traced to Wildbore, a Middle English byname for a wild boar; another proposal joins the Germanic wil, will, with burg, fortress.
Wilbur in 2025
Wilbur was given to 27 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 8,632nd most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 122,790 babies born.
The history of Wilbur
Wilbur reached its highest point in 1918, when 1,809 babies were given the name, ranking 227th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 211th, in 1915.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 57,196 babies have been named Wilbur. Half of them were born before 1927, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Wilbur by decade
| Decade | Babies named Wilbur | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 914 | 307 |
| 1890s | 1,142 | 353 |
| 1900s | 1,839 | 327 |
| 1910s | 12,475 | 211 |
| 1920s | 15,834 | 240 |
| 1930s | 9,109 | 306 |
| 1940s | 5,985 | 431 |
| 1950s | 4,150 | 662 |
| 1960s | 2,572 | 918 |
| 1970s | 1,273 | 1,333 |
| 1980s | 782 | 2,083 |
| 1990s | 433 | 3,649 |
| 2000s | 259 | 6,968 |
| 2010s | 251 | 6,955 |
| 2020s | 178 | 6,461 |
Where Wilbur is heading
Wilbur has fallen 10% over the past decade, from 30 babies in 2015 to 27 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1918 peak — Wilbur is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Wilbur
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Wilbur.