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

Wilbourn, 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 Wilbourn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wilbourn in America

Wilbourn is the 12115th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wilbourn surname appeared 2,573 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wilbourn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wilbourn 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 Wilbourn

The surname Wilbourn is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is considered a locational surname, derived from the place name "Wilbrahams" or "Wilbraham" found in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. The name is thought to come from an Old English personal name "Wilburh" combined with the Old English word "ham," meaning homestead or village.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Wilburgeham." This reference suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the late 11th century. Over time, various spellings emerged, such as Wilborne, Wilburn, and Wilburne, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations.

In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Richard de Wilburgham, who served as the Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1256. Another early record comes from the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where a certain John Wylburn is mentioned.

During the 16th century, the Wilbourn surname gained prominence with the birth of Ralph Wilbourn (1520-1603), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Lincolnshire. His descendants continued to play an influential role in the region for several generations.

In the 17th century, Samuel Wilbourn (1619-1696) was a prominent English clergyman and author, known for his work "A Discourse Concerning the Certainty of Divine Revelation" published in 1688.

Another notable figure was Sir John Wilbourn (1673-1743), a British naval officer who served during the War of the Spanish Succession and later became a Member of Parliament for Portsmouth.

In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Charles Wilbourn (1826-1897), a renowned English artist and illustrator whose works were exhibited at the Royal Academy and other prestigious art galleries.

While the surname Wilbourn is not as common as some other English names, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, clergymen, naval officers, and artists.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wilbourn

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

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 Wilbourn 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 Wilbourn 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 Wilbourn was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!