Wilmore
A masculine name derived from a surname meaning "from the marshy meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Wilmore. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wilmore today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilmore births was 1920 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilmore. 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
- • The typical person named Wilmore is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wilmores were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wilmore. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1920
10 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1945 SSA rank
#3,773
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Wilmore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilmore from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 38 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Wilmore remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilmore 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 Wilmore 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 Wilmore
The name Wilmore is an English given name with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. Its origins can be traced to the Old English words "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "mor" meaning "moor" or "marsh." Together, the name is believed to have originally referred to someone who lived near or on a moor or marsh.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilmore can be found in the Domesday Book, a renowned medieval survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Here, the name is listed as "Willemor," a likely precursor to the modern spelling.
Throughout the centuries, the name Wilmore has been associated with several notable figures. One such individual was Wilmore Kendall (1778-1808), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Another was Wilmore Webber (1819-1856), a renowned American Methodist minister and abolitionist.
Moving forward in time, Wilmore Douglass Allison (1847-1918) was a distinguished American educator and clergyman who served as the fourth president of the University of Richmond. In the arts, Wilmore Kendrick (1895-1965) was an American character actor who appeared in numerous films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
More recently, Wilmore Burdine (1942-2020) was a respected American lawyer and judge who served as a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas. His commitment to upholding the law and promoting justice left a lasting impact on the legal community.
While the name Wilmore has seen ebbs and flows in popularity over the centuries, its rich history and meaningful origins continue to make it a distinctive and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name with a strong connection to the past.
People
Wilmore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilmore 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
Wilmore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilmore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilmore 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Wilmore a common name?
We classify Wilmore as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilmore most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilmore was 1920, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilmore is about 83 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 Wilmore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilmore a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilmore 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 Wilmore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilmore 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 Wilmore 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 Americans are named Wilmore?
Want to know how many Americans are named Wilmore? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.