Boy · #3,665 in 2026

Wilbon

Name: Popularity of the name Wilbon in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Wilbon, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Michael Ray Wilbon is an American host and commentator for ESPN and former sportswriter and columnist for The Washington Post. He has co-hosted Pardon the Interruption on ESPN since 2001 and is also an analyst.

Current Rank

#3,665

Peak Rank

#2,781 (1930)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

Stable

1914

First Year

1960

Last Year

1930

Peak Year

#2781

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Wilbon

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Wilbon

The earliest SSA record of Wilbon as a baby boy name dates back to 1914, when 5 babies received it. 1930 was its biggest year on record, with 9 newborns named Wilbon — #2,781 in the national rankings. About 34% of every Wilbon on record arrived during the 1920s, its defining decade. Wilbon last appeared in the published SSA data in 1960, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 93 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Wilbon

Phonetically similar names — useful when Wilbon is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Willen
Wilburn
Wilborn
Willin
Whelan
Wellen
Welborn
Wlan
Welborne
Welburn
Holben
Woolen

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Wilbon

What does the name Wilbon mean?

How popular is Wilbon in 2026?

In 2026, Wilbon ranks #3,665 among boys' names in the U.S., with 6 babies given the name that year.

When was Wilbon most popular?

Wilbon reached its peak popularity in 1930, ranking #2,781 that year with 9 babies given the name.

Is Wilbon a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Wilbon is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Wilbon?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Wilbon include Henrietta, Sallie, Merrit. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Wilbon

Wilbon is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1914 and has accumulated 93 births in the dataset. Wilbon's peak popularity came in 1930 when it ranked #2,781. Use the chart and map above to compare Wilbon's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.