Wilberforce (name)

Last updated May 12, 2025

Wilberforce is a name, both a surname and a given name. It is also the name of an English family, including William Wilberforce. Notable people with the name include:

People

Surname

People with the surname include:

William Wilberforce (1759–1833), British politician, evangelical reformer and campaigner against the slave trade
- Barbara Wilberforce (1777–1847), wife of William
- William Wilberforce (1798–1879), first and eldest son of William, a lawyer and Member of Parliament
- Robert Wilberforce (1802–1857), second son of William, a clergyman, Catholic convert and writer
  - Lionel Wilberforce (1861–1944), British physicist, grandson of Robert and inventor of the Wilberforce pendulum
  - Herbert Wilberforce (1864–1941), British male tennis player, grandson of Robert and chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
- Samuel Wilberforce (1805–1873), third son of William, a bishop who debated the theory of evolution with Thomas Henry Huxley
  - Ernest Wilberforce (1840–1907), Anglican bishop and third son of Samuel
  - Basil Wilberforce (1841–1916), Anglican priest, Archdeacon of Westminster and fourth and youngest son of Samuel
  - Richard Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce (1907–2003), great-grandson of Samuel, Law Lord
- Henry Wilberforce (1807–1873), fourth and youngest son of William, Catholic convert, journalist and author
Marion Wilberforce (1902–1995), aviator
Octavia Wilberforce (1888–1963), English physician
Robert Wilberforce (cricketer) (1910–1987), Australian cricketer
Susan Wilberforce, suspect in the 1987 murder of Simon Dale; great-great-granddaughter of William Wilberforce

Given name

People with the given name include:

Wilberforce Eames (1855–1937), American bibliographer and librarian
Wilberforce Eaves (1867–1920), Australian-born tennis player from the United Kingdom
Wilberforce Echezona (1926–1987), Nigerian musicologist and teacher
Wilberforce Juta (1944–2020), Nigerian politician
Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira (born 1958), Ugandan Anglican bishop
Wilberforce Mfum (1936–2025), Ghanaian footballer
Wilberforce Kisamba Mugerwa (1945–2021), Ugandan agricultural economist, politician and academic
Wilberforce Ocran (born 1999), Ghanaian professional footballer in the United Kingdom
Wilberforce Talel (born 1980), Kenyan runner

Middle name

People with the middle name include:

A. Wilberforce Williams (1865–1940), African American physician, teacher, and journalist.
Ronald Wilberforce Allen (1889–1936), English lawyer and Liberal politician
Samuel Wilberforce Awuku-Darko (1924–?), Ghanaian accountant and politician
Vincent Wilberforce Baddeley (1874–1961), British civil servant
William Wilberforce Bird (merchant) (1758–1836), British merchant, civil servant and author; Member of Parliament for Coventry
- William Wilberforce Bird (governor) (1784–1857), his son; British colonial administrator, Deputy Governor of Bengal, and Governor-General of India
Edwin Wilberforce Carrington, Tobagonian diplomat; former Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community
Henry Wilberforce Clarke (1840–1905), British translator of Persian works
Charles Wilberforce Daniels (1862–1927), British physician
William Gabula (William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV; born 1988), the reigning Kyabazinga of Busoga, a constitutional kingdom in modern-day Uganda
William Wilberforce Harris Greathed (1826–1878), British senior officer in the Bengal Engineers
Arthur Wilberforce Jose (1863–1934), English-Australian historian and editor
George Wilberforce Kakoma (1923–2012), Ugandan musician who wrote Uganda's national anthem
James Wilberforce Longley (1849–1922), Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, and judge
William Wilberforce Newton (1843–1914), American Episcopalian divine and author
Harold Wilberforce Hindmarsh Stephen (1841–1889), Australian politician
James Wilberforce Stephen (1822–1881), Australian politician

Fictional characters

Mr. Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries, a character in the 1970s British sitcom Are You Being Served?
Mr. Wilberforce, a character in the children's novel, Under the Mountain , by Maurice Gee
The Wilberforces, antagonists in the New Zealand children's TV horror-sci-fi show Under the Mountain , based on the novel by Maurice Gee
Mrs. Louisa Wilberforce, one of the main characters in the film The Ladykillers
Wilberforce Thornapple, a character in the comic strip The Born Loser
Mayor Wilberforce Cranklepot, a character in Blinky Bill the Movie and The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill
Bertie Wooster (Bertram Wilberforce Wooster), a character in the comedic Jeeves stories
Colonel Sir Harold Wilberforce Clifton, main character of the Franco-Belgian comics series Clifton
Colonel Wilberforce Buckshot, a character in the Laurel and Hardy film Another Fine Mess