Wilburne
Derived from Germanic elements meaning "will fortress" or "resolute protection".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Wilburne. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wilburne today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilburne births was 1925 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilburne. 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 Wilburne. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1925
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1925 SSA rank
#4,181
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Wilburne: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilburne 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 Wilburne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilburne
The name Wilburne is a variant spelling of the Old English name Wilburn, which originated in the Anglo-Saxon era. It is derived from the elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "burne" meaning "stream" or "brook." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a stream or was associated with a particular stream or river.
In its early forms, the name was recorded as Wilburna in the Domesday Book of 1086, a historic manuscript that recorded landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests the name was in use among the Anglo-Saxon population before the arrival of the Normans.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Wilburne of Warwickshire, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1190, a record of royal financial accounts during the reign of King Richard I. This indicates the name was well-established in medieval England.
In the 13th century, a Wilburne de Stoke was documented as a landowner in Staffordshire, England. Records from this period often included locational surnames, suggesting this individual was associated with the village of Stoke.
During the Renaissance, a notable figure named Wilburne Huddleston was a prominent lawyer and judge in England in the late 16th century. He served as a Justice of the King's Bench from 1592 until his death in 1608.
Another historically significant bearer of the name was Wilburne Maddox, an English soldier and explorer who was part of the Virginia Company's expedition to establish the Jamestown colony in 1607. He served as a member of the governing council and is mentioned in historical accounts of the early settlement.
In the 18th century, Wilburne Armistead was a respected landowner and plantation owner in Virginia, born in 1720. He was a member of the influential Armistead family and played a role in the political affairs of the colony before the American Revolution.
While the name Wilburne has waned in popularity in recent times, it remains a part of historical records and serves as a testament to the rich linguistic heritage of the English language and its roots in the Anglo-Saxon period.
People
Wilburne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilburne 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
Wilburne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilburne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilburne 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 Wilburne a common name?
We classify Wilburne 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, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilburne most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilburne was 1925, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilburne 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 Wilburne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilburne a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilburne 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 Wilburne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilburne 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 Wilburne 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 have Wilburne as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.