Find out how popular the last name Wilbanks is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wilbanks.

Wilbanks, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wilbanks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wilbanks in America

Wilbanks is the 4384th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wilbanks surname appeared 8,107 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Wilbanks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wilbanks to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wilbanks

The surname Wilbanks originated in England, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the village of Wilburnhaughs, situated in the county of Northumberland. The name is a combination of the Old English words "wil" meaning "willow" and "burna" meaning "stream," suggesting that the original bearers of this surname lived near a stream or brook where willow trees grew abundantly.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Wilbanks surname can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a certain William Wilbanks was listed as a witness in a legal document dated 1587. Another early reference comes from the Hearth Tax Returns of 1674, which lists a Thomas Wilbanks as a landowner in the village of Rothbury, Northumberland.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Wilbanks family seemed to have established a strong presence in the northern counties of England, particularly in Northumberland and Durham. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Robert Wilbanks (1634-1712), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Elizabeth Wilbanks (1678-1745), who is mentioned in the records of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers in London.

As the industrial revolution took hold in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many Wilbanks families migrated to urban centers in search of employment. One such individual was John Wilbanks (1796-1872), a coal miner from Gateshead who later settled in the West Midlands and worked in the iron foundries of Birmingham.

Another notable figure was Sir William Wilbanks (1812-1895), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Liverpool. He made his fortune in the shipping trade and was knighted in 1873 for his charitable contributions to the city.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several Wilbanks families emigrated from England to the United States and Canada, seeking new opportunities and a better life. One of the earliest recorded Wilbanks settlers in America was Samuel Wilbanks (1839-1921), who arrived in New York in 1862 and later settled in Ohio, where he worked as a farmer.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wilbanks

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wilbanks.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wilbanks was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wilbanks has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wilbanks was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wilbanks, please contact us.

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