Ulysses
About Ulysses
Ulysses is one of the few U boys' names anyone knows -- with heavy links to the Homeric hero of The Odyssey, the eighteenth US president Ulysses Grant, and the James Joyce novel -- all of which makes it distinguished, if a little weighty, for a modern boy.
The Latinate form of the Greek Odysseus, the name means "wrathful" or "to hate", however, if you were after a more positive meaning, the word "odyssey" has come to mean "long, eventful journey". Ulysses was on the US popularity list until 2005, however, it has since declined, with 150 boys bearing the name in a recent year.
Former SNLer Anna Gasteyer made this bold choice for her son, perhaps inspiring others to follow her lead. George Clooney's character name in the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? is Ulysses.
Trivia tidbit: The presidential bearer was christened Hiram Ulysses Grant, but reputedly was all too happy when his first two names were reversed at West Point, as he had always been embarrassed by having the initials HUG.
The name more recently featured in the 2021 novel Still Life by Sarah Winman.
As of October 2026, Ulysses ranked #1201 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #272 in 1895, Nameberry popularity #425.
Editor's take: The name Ulysses is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "wrathful".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,109 | 173 | 90.1 |
| 2015 | #1,085 | 181 | 94.4 |
| 2016 | #1,272 | 144 | 75.9 |
| 2017 | #1,190 | 157 | 84.8 |
| 2018 | #1,138 | 170 | 93.6 |
| 2019 | #1,022 | 204 | 113.7 |
| 2020 | #1,068 | 188 | 108.9 |
| 2021 | #1,133 | 180 | 102.9 |
| 2022 | #1,118 | 191 | 109.4 |
| 2023 | #1,195 | 169 | 98.8 |
| 2024 | #1,291 | 152 | 88.2 |
| 2025 | #1,201 | 169 | 98.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Famous Ulyssess
- (Hiram) Ulysses (Simpson) Grant
18th US president and Civil War general
- Ulysses Simpson Grant III
U.S. Major General; grandson of the President
- Ulysses Simpson Grant Sharp Jr.
U.S. Navy admiral
- Ulysses Gomez
Mexican,American mixed martial artist
- Ulysses "Crazy Legs" Curtis
American CFL football player
- Ulysses Davis
American silent film director
- Ulysses Sigel Webb
American politician from California
- Ulysses Guimarães
Brazilian politician and lawyer who played an important role in opposing the military dictatorship in Brazil and in the fight to restore democracy in the country
Ulysses in pop culture
- Ulysses
Roman name for Odysseus, Greek hero of the Iliad and the Odyssey
- "Ulysses
" novel by James Joyce
- Ulysses
Grecian commander in Shakespeare's play "Troilus and Cressida"
- Ulysses
squirrel in "Flora & Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo
- Ulysses
character in video game "Fallout: New Vegas , Lonesome Road"
- Ulysses Klaue aka Klaw
character in Marvel Comics
- Ronald Ulysses Swanson
character on TV's "Parks and Recreation"
- Percival Ulysses "Perry" Cox
character on TV's "Scrubs"
- "Ulysses
" song by the band Franz Ferdinand
Variations & nicknames
- UlisesSpanish
- UlysseFrench
- UlisseItalian
- UlesiHawaiian
- UlekiHawaiian
- UlissesFrench
More nicknames
- Uly
- Ul