# Ulysses (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ulysses/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “odysseus” |
| Pronunciation | /juːˈlɪ.siːz/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 18,680 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 18,655 / 25 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 35, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Ulyssēs, a frequent alternative form of Ulixēs (“Odysseus”), influenced by the Ancient Greek Ὀδυσσεύς (Odusseús). Doublet of Odysseus.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 5 | 5,799 |
| 1933 | 5 | 4,808 |
| 1962 | 5 | 7,521 |
| 1986 | 5 | 12,756 |
| 1991 | 5 | 15,358 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 179 | 1,054 |
| 2012 | 167 | 1,110 |
| 2013 | 165 | 1,110 |
| 2014 | 173 | 1,109 |
| 2015 | 181 | 1,085 |
| 2016 | 144 | 1,273 |
| 2017 | 157 | 1,190 |
| 2018 | 170 | 1,138 |
| 2019 | 204 | 1,022 |
| 2020 | 188 | 1,068 |
| 2021 | 180 | 1,134 |
| 2022 | 191 | 1,118 |
| 2023 | 170 | 1,191 |
| 2024 | 152 | 1,294 |
| 2025 | 169 | 1,201 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3 | 2,901 |
| 2011 | 3 | 4,647 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3,416 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,996 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3,112 |
| 2024 | 5 | 3,688 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## People named Ulysses

- Maximilian Ulysses Browne, Austrian field marshal
- Ulysses Llanez, American soccer player
- Ulysses Guimarães, Brazilian politician and lawyer (1916-1992)
- Ulysses Kay, composer (1917–1995)
- Junior Bridgeman, American basketball player and businessman

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.