Ulysses
The Latin version of the Greek Odysseus, the wandering hero of Homer's epic. The Greek name has no secure etymology.
Ulysses in 2025
Ulysses was given to 169 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,481st most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 19,617 babies born.
The history of Ulysses
Ulysses reached its highest point in 1999, when 272 babies were given the name, ranking 1,430th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 604th, in 1880.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 18,680 babies have been named Ulysses. Half of them were born before 1966, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Ulysses by decade
| Decade | Babies named Ulysses | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 241 | 604 |
| 1890s | 310 | 699 |
| 1900s | 294 | 974 |
| 1910s | 1,182 | 918 |
| 1920s | 1,844 | 901 |
| 1930s | 1,455 | 895 |
| 1940s | 1,559 | 998 |
| 1950s | 1,651 | 1,145 |
| 1960s | 1,287 | 1,441 |
| 1970s | 1,100 | 1,745 |
| 1980s | 1,357 | 1,590 |
| 1990s | 1,743 | 1,430 |
| 2000s | 1,884 | 1,718 |
| 2010s | 1,723 | 2,187 |
| 2020s | 1,050 | 2,276 |
Where Ulysses is heading
Ulysses has fallen 7% over the past decade, from 181 babies in 2015 to 169 in 2025.
Names like Ulysses
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Ulysses.