Wilmot
A masculine given name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protector".
Name Census estimates that about 89 living Americans carry the first name Wilmot. It is a predominantly male name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Wilmot today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilmot births was 1916 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilmot. 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 Wilmot is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wilmots were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wilmot. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
89
~ 1 in 3,851,172 Americans
Peak year
1916
27 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1993 SSA rank
#5,300
Tracked since 1906
Gender
Gender distribution for Wilmot
Wilmot leans heavily male at 98.9% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wilmot as a male name
- Ranked #10,116 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1916 (27 births)
Wilmot as a female name
- Ranked #5,300 in 1917
- 5 female births in 1917
- Peak: 1917 (5 births)
Popularity
Wilmot: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilmot from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 146 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilmot 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 Wilmot during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wilmots live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilmot
The name Wilmot is of Anglo-Norman origin, derived from the Old French name "Willemet" or "Wilemet," which itself is a diminutive form of the Germanic name "Wilhelm" or "William." The name "Wilhelm" is composed of two elements: "wil," meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm," meaning "helmet" or "protection." Thus, the name Wilmot essentially means "little William" or "resolute protector."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilmot can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Willemot." This suggests that the name was brought to England by Norman settlers after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the 12th century, the name Wilmot appeared in the writings of Gerald of Wales, a renowned cleric and historian. He mentioned a knight named Wilmot de Traci, who was implicated in the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Wilmot was John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647-1680), an English poet and courtier during the Restoration period. He was known for his satirical and often bawdy poetry, as well as his rakish lifestyle.
Another prominent individual with the name Wilmot was Sir John Eardley Wilmot (1709-1792), an English judge and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1766 to 1792. He made significant contributions to the development of English common law.
In the United States, Wilmot Proviso (1846) was a famous piece of legislation proposed by David Wilmot, a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. The Proviso aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War.
Other notable figures with the name Wilmot include Wilmot Robertson (1915-2005), an American author and white nationalist; Wilmot Brookings (1850-1932), a Canadian politician and businessman; and Wilmot Horton (1773-1843), an English politician and colonial administrator.
Overall, the name Wilmot has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been borne by notable figures in various fields, including literature, law, politics, and business.
People
Wilmot + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilmot 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
Wilmot: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilmot?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 89 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilmot 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 3,851,172 US residents.
Is Wilmot a common name?
We classify Wilmot as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 459 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilmot most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilmot was 1916, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilmot is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wilmot a male name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Wilmot 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.