Welburn
A masculine given name of English origin meaning "stream or spring by the farm".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Welburn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Welburn today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Welburn births was 1915 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Welburn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Welburn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,224
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Welburn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Welburn from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Welburn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Welburn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Welburn
The name Welburn is an English given name with origins dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "wel" meaning "well" or "spring," and "burna" meaning "stream" or "brook." This suggests that the name may have been used to describe someone who lived near a well or a brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Welburn can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in the form "Welleburne," referring to a place in Yorkshire, England.
During the Middle Ages, the name Welburn was primarily used by families residing in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Northumberland. It was not uncommon for people to adopt place names as surnames or given names during this period, as it helped identify their place of origin or residence.
While the name Welburn does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is worth noting that the concept of water sources, such as wells and streams, held significant cultural and spiritual importance in many ancient civilizations.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Welburn. One of the earliest examples is Welburn de Middleton, a 13th-century English landowner and knight who was recorded in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1246.
Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Welburn (c. 1390 - c. 1450), an English knight and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Yorkshire in the early 15th century.
In the 17th century, Welburn Whitfeld (1627 - 1692) was an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Durham from 1688 until his death.
Moving into the 19th century, Welburn Huddleston (1806 - 1876) was a notable English artist and engraver known for his landscape paintings and etchings of Yorkshire and Durham.
Finally, Welburn Fitzwalter (1888 - 1967) was a British army officer who served in both World War I and World War II, receiving the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery in the latter conflict.
While the name Welburn may not be as widely used today as it once was, it remains a part of English historical records and cultural heritage, reflecting the connection between names and the natural landscape of the regions where they originated.
People
Welburn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Welburn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Welburn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Welburn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Welburn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Welburn a common name?
We classify Welburn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Welburn most popular?
The single biggest year for Welburn was 1915, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Welburn is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Welburn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Welburn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Welburn in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Welburn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Welburn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Welburn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Welburn?
Find out how many Americans are named Welburn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.