Wilkes
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- WILKS
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #4,856 for boys
Wilkes is a boys' name of English origin, meaning “son of Wilk (William)”. In 2025 it ranked 4,856th for boys in the US (20 babies).
What does Wilkes mean?
English: English surname
“son of Wilk (William)”
From a surname based on Wilk, a medieval pet form of William; John Wilkes was a famous eighteenth-century English radical politician.
Is Wilkes a girl's or a boy's name?
Wilkes is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 20 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Wilkes in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,856th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 20 about 1 in 85,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 3% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 20 boys in the US were named Wilkes, making it the 4,856th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,976th. Its busiest year was 2018, with 30 boys. It first appears in the records in 1916.
Half of all the boys named Wilkes in the US since 1880 were born between 2011 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Wilkes in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | #4,856 |
| 2024 | 24 | #4,318 |
| 2023 | 20 | #4,882 |
| 2022 | 17 | #5,441 |
| 2021 | 21 | #4,624 |
| 2020 | 14 | #5,976 |
| 2019 | 18 | #5,149 |
| 2018 | 30 | #3,603 |
| 2017 | 11 | #7,091 |
| 2016 | 16 | #5,551 |
| 2015 | 8 | #8,739 |
| 2014 | 12 | #6,627 |
| 2013 | 8 | #8,784 |
| 2012 | 10 | #7,553 |
| 2011 | 12 | #6,572 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 6 | #10,989 |
| 2008 | 10 | #7,693 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 7 | #9,579 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 5 | #5,843 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 5 | #3,884 |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 6 | #3,369 |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 5 | #3,504 |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 8 | #3,173 |
| 1922 | 5 | #4,305 |
| 1921 | 8 | #3,213 |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 6 | #3,735 |
| 1918 | 0 | – |
| 1917 | 0 | – |
| 1916 | 6 | #3,515 |
Names like Wilkes
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Rhodes, Banks, Hayes, Wells, Saint, Wilder, Wylder, Wes, King, Crew, Woods, Welles
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Wilkes: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/wilkes, updated 20 October 2026.