# Wilbur (name)

Wilbur is an English and German masculine given name of Germanic origin as well as a surname. The etymology of the name is disputed, however the most accepted theory is that it is composed of the elements wilþī- (Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz-) "wild", and ebur (Proto-Germanic *eburaz) "boar". Another suggestion is that it derives from German willo (Proto-Germanic *wiljô) "will", "wish", "desire", and burg (Proto-Germanic *burgz) "fortress". Notable people with the name include:

## Surname

* Cornelia B. Wilbur (1908–1992), American psychiatrist
* Crane Wilbur (1886–1973), American writer, actor and director of stage, radio and screen
* Curtis D. Wilbur (1867–1954), US Secretary of the Navy and Chief Justice of California
* George P. Wilbur (1941–2023), actor and stuntman
* Jay Wilbur (1898–1970), British bandleader
* John Wilbur (disambiguation)
* Ray Lyman Wilbur (1875–1949), American doctor, president of Stanford University and United States Secretary of the Interior
* Richard Wilbur (1921–2017), United States Poet Laureate and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
* Richard C. Wilbur (1936–2020), judge of the United States Tax Court
* Sylvia Wilbur (born 1938), British computer scientist
* Todd Wilbur, American cookbook author
* William Wilbur, New York politician
* William H. Wilbur (1888–1979), US Army brigadier general

## Given name

* Wilbur Cave (fl. 1970s–2000s), American politician from South Carolina
* Wilbur Clark (1908–1965), American businessman and owner of hotels and casinos
* Wilbur Cobb (1929–2020), American jazz drummer
* Wilbur J. Cohen (1913–1987), American social scientist and, as a civil servant, one of the key architects of the welfare state
* Wilbur Cooper (1892–1973), Major League Baseball pitcher
* Wilbur Lucius Cross (1862–1948), American educator and Governor of Connecticut
* Wilbur Good (1885–1963), Major League Baseball player
* Wilbur Jackson (born 1951), American collegiate and National Football League running back
* Wilbur MacDonald (1933–2020), Canadian politician
* Wilbur Mills (1909–1992), influential member of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
* Wilbur Ross (born 1937), American investor and 39th Secretary of Commerce
* Wilbur Schramm (1907–1987), American journalist and academic sometimes called the "father of communication studies"
* Wilbur Shaw (1902–1954), American racing driver
* Wilbur Smith (1933–2021), South African novelist
* Wilbur Soot (born 1996), English YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and musician
* Wilbur Sweatman (1882–1961), African-American ragtime and dixieland jazz composer, bandleader and clarinetist
* Wilbur J. Thomas (1920–1947), American combat pilot
* Wilbur Thomas (fl. 1970s), American former basketball player
* Wilbur Ware (1923–1979), American jazz double-bassist
* Wilbur Wood (born 1941), former Major League Baseball pitcher
* Wilbur Wright (1867–1912), one of the two brothers generally credited with inventing the first successful airplane
* Wilbur Young (1949–2014), American football player

## Fictional characters

* Cousin Wilbur, the title character of the 1939 short film Cousin Wilbur
* Wilbur, in the 2002 film Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
* Wilbur, the albatross in the 1990 animated film The Rescuers Down Under
* Wilbur, the checkerboard elephant in the 1994 picture book Elmer and Wilbur
* Wilbur, the grasshopper in the 1939 animated short film Goofy and Wilbur
* Wilbur, the pig in the 1952 children's novel Charlotte's Web and subsequent adaptations
* Wilbur, the title character of the children's television series Wilbur
* Wilbur Force, in the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors
* Wilbur Post, in the television series Mister Ed
* Wilbur Robinson, in the 1990 picture book A Day with Wilbur Robinson and its film adaptation Meet the Robinsons