I genuinely enjoy the name [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m]. I like that it’s unconventional but has the conventional nickname, [name_m]Wil[/name_m]. I also tend to gravitate towards names ending in r.
However, on nameberry, it’s description isn’t generous and it features on such lists as “Geeks [name_u]Forever[/name_u],” “Old [name_m]Man[/name_m] Names,” and “Names No Kid [name_f]May[/name_f] Be Cool Enough For.” The [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s [name_m]Web[/name_m] connotation doesn’t bother me, and it definitely doesn’t seem to have affected [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]. Is [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] going to go the way of [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] and [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] and get cool and popular again? Or is it always going to be too vintage?
Basically, I’m asking if I should move [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] from my guilty pleasure list to my real might-actually-use list. What do you think?
The connection with [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s web - more specifically the pig called [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] - is too strong for me to see it on a child. Which is a huge bummer, because it’s a wonderfully vintage name. I personally don’t think it’ll follow suit with [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] and [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] and be popular again. However, I think it could still work on a human, as long as you’re okay with pig comments (hopefully only rarely). I probably wouldn’t use it but there are FAR worse names! Good luck.
I encountered a sweet little [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] while I was in the UK. It was so adorable on him, and it totally works once you actually see it on a child. [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] used to be in the same camp as [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m]: an “old man name” too associated with a children’s character. But look how that turned out.
I think [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] would be a very difficult name for any boy or man to wear. Not because of [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s [name_m]Web[/name_m], that actually puts a positive touch on the name.
It’s definitely dorky, but people are considering choices like [name_f]Vera[/name_f], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_f]Agnes[/name_f], etc. for girls nowadays. The “rules” are changing. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be usable.
[name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] immediately makes me think pig. It’s a pity because it would be such a good name otherwise.
I personally wouldn’t be brave enough to use it now, but I don’t think it’s totally out of the realm of possibility that it might become more popular in the future. Lots of names that are popular now would have been considered unusable 30 years ago.
I consider it pretty much like [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] for a girl. It’s still a bold choice since obviously a lot of people don’t immediately love it, but on a particular child those associations wear off fast. And any [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] can always choose to go by [name_m]Wil[/name_m] or [name_m]Will[/name_m] if it’s actually making life harder.
I’m in the UK, and think [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] is perfectly usable, there are loads of kids named [name_m]Albert[/name_m], [name_u]Reggie[/name_u] and [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] around, in fact [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m] is so rarely used it doesn’t seem as dated to me as other ‘old man’ choices, because I’ve never met anyone old or otherwise with the name
There is something genuinely lovely about [name_m]Wilbur[/name_m]… it is sweet and charming. I like it much more than [name_m]Authur[/name_m], etc. I think Nameberry is being a little over the top in it’s description - I would put it in the definitely usable pile, although it is a very specific style/taste.
I honestly didn’t think of [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s [name_m]Web[/name_m] at all. My mind went straight to [name_m]William[/name_m] Wilberforce and what a strong namesake that is!