Given name & surname
Wilber
“one who is willful; a bright man”
Wilber is a variant of Wilbert. One German interpretation is “one who is willful; a bright man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Wilber is a variant of Wilbert. One German interpretation is “one who is willful; a bright man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Wilber is a variant of Wilbert. An origin associated with Wilbert is German.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wilber through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,902
- 6,891 boys · 11 girls
- Most popular year
- 1919
- 162 babies
- 2025
- 27
- #4,039 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 27 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,039 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 162 in 1919. In 2025, Massachusetts had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,360 as a first name in 2020; 5,539 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Wilber
- Will PanTaiwanese-American singer, actor and entrepreneurborn 1980
- Mauricio WrightCosta Rican footballer and managerborn 1970
- Wilber SánchezCuban Olympic wrestlerborn 1968
- Wilber M. BruckerGovernor of Michigan, United States Secretary of the Army (1894-1968)
- Wilber PérezGuatemalan association football playerborn 1988
- Wilber MorrisJazz musician, bassist (1937-2002)
- Wilber MarshallAmerican football player, College Football Hall of Fameborn 1962
- Wilber VarelaColombian drug trafficker (1957-2008)
- Wilber SánchezNicaraguan footballerborn 1979
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wilber, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wilfred
“one who wishes for peace”
>99% boys
Webster
“a weaver”
>99% boys
Willard
“a resolute and brave man”
>99% boys
Sumner
“a legal official; one who serves summons”
82% boys · 18% girls
Winfield
“from a friend's field”
>99% boys
Weldon
“from the hill near a spring”
>99% boys
Buster
“pockmark, boil”
>99% boys
Wilford
“from the willow ford”
>99% boys