Wilbur
An English surname that may come from the old personal name Wilburh/Wilburg, though some 19th-century writers also linked it to “wild boar.”
The #3,719 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,407 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical reading connects Wilbur to the Old English female name Wilburh or Wilburg. That name is usually explained from elements meaning “desire, will” and “fortress, stronghold,” giving a sense like “beloved stronghold.” Some older surname books, however, treated Wilbur as a shortened form of Wilburgham or as related to “wild boar,” so the etymology is not entirely settled in the 19th-century literature.
History
The name appears in English records in several spellings, and surname dictionaries note forms such as Wilber, Wilbor, Wilbur, and Wilburgham. As a family name it seems to have spread mainly in England and later in the United States. Later genealogical reference works often grouped it with similar-looking surnames rather than offering a single agreed origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical explanation ties the surname to Wilburh, said to be the name of a daughter of Penda, the 7th-century king of Mercia.
From the historical record
“Wilbur + ham, home, &c.] WILBUR (Eng.) the A.-Sax. fem. name Wil- burh or Wilburg = Beloved Stronghold or City [f. O.E. wil(l)a, will, wish, joj', thing desired or beloved -f- burh, burg, a fortified place] A Wilbiirh was a daughter of Penda, the 7th-cent. king of Mercia.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)