Wilber
Willpower radiant warrior, valiant bright ruler.
Name Census estimates that about 2,690 living Americans carry the first name Wilber. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wilber today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilber births was 1919 (162 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilber. 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.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 127,418 Americans
Peak year
1919
162 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,299
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Wilber
Out of the 6,875 babies given the name Wilber since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Wilber as a male name
- Ranked #4,299 in 2024
- 25 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1919 (162 births)
Wilber as a female name
- Ranked #6,043 in 1949
- 5 female births in 1949
- Peak: 1929 (6 births)
Popularity
Wilber: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilber from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,437 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilber 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 Wilber during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wilbers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. California, Texas, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Wilber, while Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 99 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilber
The name Wilber is an English name derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "berht" meaning "bright" or "famous." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, when many names were formed by combining various Germanic root words.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilber can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appeared as "Wilbertus" or "Wilbertus Clericus," indicating that it was likely used by members of the clergy at that time.
In the 13th century, a man named Wilber de Lisle was listed as a landholder in the county of Oxfordshire, England. This record provides evidence of the name's continued use during the medieval period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Wilber. One of the most famous was Wilber Wright (1867-1912), the pioneering American aviator who, along with his brother Orville, achieved the first successful powered flight in 1903.
Another prominent figure was Wilber Wilcox (1888-1964), an American engineer and businessman who played a significant role in the development of the oil refining industry in the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Wilber Daniel Steele (1869-1938) was an American short story writer and novelist best known for his works set in the American West.
Wilber Marion Brucker (1894-1968) was the 20th United States Secretary of the Army, serving under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1955 to 1961.
Wilber Atkinson (1919-1997) was an American professional basketball player who spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1940s and 1950s.
While the name Wilber has seen varying levels of popularity over the centuries, it remains a part of the English naming tradition, carrying with it a rich linguistic history and associations with notable individuals from various fields.
People
Wilber + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilber 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
Wilber: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilber?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,690 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilber 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 1 in 127,418 US residents.
Is Wilber a common name?
We classify Wilber as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,875 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilber most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilber was 1919, when 162 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilber is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wilber a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Wilber 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.
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.