indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from location)
Usage English
Meaning & History
Means "person from Wilberfoss", Yorkshire ("Wilburh's ditch"). This is borne by Wilberforce University, a university in Xenia, Ohio, USA, founded in 1856 and named in honour of the British philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce (1759-1833). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mrs Wilberforce, the canny little old lady whose house is commandeered by crooks in the film 'The Ladykillers' (1955).