How common is the surname Wilbur?

9,527 people in the United States had the surname Wilbur in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 32,407 Americans. It ranked 3,719th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Wilbur?

In the 2010 Census, 90% of people named Wilbur identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Wilbur?

Richard Wilbur, American poet (1921-2017), followed by Crane Wilbur.

Where is the surname Wilbur most common?

Wikidata records people named Wilbur in the United States.

Is the surname Wilbur getting more or less common?

Less common. 9,722 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 9,527 in 2010, down 2.0%.

Is Wilbur also a first name?

Yes. Wilbur is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Wilbur

An English patronymic surname, carried by 9,527 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex W416 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wilbur is more common than 97.7% of them.

Origin

English origin

From an Old English female given name Wilburg, from wil (“will”) + burh (“fortress”).

Wilbur is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 9,527 people named Wilbur in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 32,407 Americans. That is down 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,722.

#3,719

rank among US surnames

9,527

people in 2010

3.2

per 100,000 Americans

-2%

change since 2000 (was #3,363)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,710	Shull	9,565	32,279
#3,711	Koehn	9,559	32,299
#3,712	Truitt	9,557	32,306
#3,713	Echeverria	9,552	32,323
#3,715	McCune	9,549	32,333
#3,716	Cable	9,545	32,346
#3,717	Freed	9,541	32,360

Who is named Wilbur

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

90% of people named Wilbur identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 2.6% as Black (not Hispanic).

White (not Hispanic) 90%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.9%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.6%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Wilburs

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Richard Wilbur
American poet (1921-2017)
Crane Wilbur
American actor, film writer, director (1886-1973)
George P. Wilbur
American actor (1941–2023)
Ray Lyman Wilbur
American physician and politician (1875–1949); president of Stanford University from 1933
Curtis D. Wilbur
American judge (1867-1954)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Wilbur

Wilbur has the Soundex code W416, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W416.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Wilbur come from?: From an Old English female given name Wilburg, from wil (“will”) + burh (“fortress”).
How common is the surname Wilbur?: 9,527 people in the United States had the surname Wilbur in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 32,407 Americans. It ranked 3,719th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wilbur?: In the 2010 Census, 90% of people named Wilbur identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Wilbur?: Richard Wilbur, American poet (1921-2017), followed by Crane Wilbur.
Where is the surname Wilbur most common?: Wikidata records people named Wilbur in the United States.
What type of surname is Wilbur?: Wilbur is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Wilbur getting more or less common?: Less common. 9,722 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 9,527 in 2010, down 2.0%.
Is Wilbur also a first name?: Yes. Wilbur is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.