Wibsey means "Wibba's island", from the Old English personal name Wibba (possessive -s) + ēg (island, marsh). The name was recorded as Wibense in 1022. Local road-names, such as Harbour Road, support this meaning.

In 2001 the population of Wibsey was 14,530. 11,474 of the residents are aged between 16 and 75+.

In 2001 there were a total of 6080 households of which 383 were detached, 2775 were semi detached, 2,650 were Terraced, 487 were flat conversions and shared dwellings. Obviously this figure will have changed greatly since the 2001 census.

Wibsey is on the outskirts of Bradford, the local Rugby club is the Bradford Bulls. The high street is a busy place with, (as in most towns), lots of traffic. Around the area lots of new houses are being built. There are lots of pubs, a few restaurants and lots of hairdressers. As with lots of towns there are problems relating to the pub culture on a Friday and Saturday nights, however the general atmosphere of the town is good and friendly.

There seems to be a very strong feeling with local businesses that they want to serve their local community and consequently the Wibsey Word plays a vital part in helping to establish the contact between businesses and residents.