boy's name
Ulysse
oo-LEES
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 13,554
France
#124
2025 births
Ulysse is a boy's name of Greek origin, the French form of Odysseus, whose own name is glossed in the Odyssey as "the one who is hated." It ranks 124th in France and appears in no other market we hold.
- Ulysse is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2021, when 535 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,191 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
Ulysse over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 890 |
| 1910s | 625 |
| 1920s | 615 |
| 1930s | 325 |
| 1940s | 160 |
| 1950s | 110 |
| 1960s | 100 |
| 1970s | 155 |
| 1980s | 265 |
| 1990s | 1,130 |
| 2000s | 2,350 |
| 2010s | 3,240 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,780 |
What Ulysse means
Ulysse carries the meaning the Odyssey gives Odysseus: the one who gives or receives anger. The poem has his grandfather name him for the resentment he feels toward the world, which makes it one of the few Greek names the text explains itself.
Where Ulysse comes from
Ulysse is the French form of Ulysses, the Latin rendering of the Greek Odysseus. The name change happened in transmission — Greek Odysseus reached Latin as Ulixes, probably through an Etruscan or south Italian dialect that swapped the consonants, and Ulysses is a later Latinized form of that. Homer explains the Greek name in book 19 of the Odyssey: Autolycus names his grandson for the odyssamenos, the anger he bears, so the sense is roughly the one who is angry at, or hated by, others. That reading is unusually well attested because the poem supplies it directly. Joyce's Ulysses in 1922 borrowed the Latin form for a novel that maps the Odyssey onto one Dublin day, which is why the Latin name is better known in English than the Greek.
Ulysse in use
Ulysse ranks 124th in France with about 495 births in 2025 and is rising in our data with a peak in 2021. Our records carry it from 1900. It appears in no other market we hold, which makes it one of the most strictly French names in the top 200 — the English-speaking world uses Ulysses, and rarely.
How popular is Ulysse?
In 2025, Ulysse was given to 495 babies in France, ranking #124 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ulysse is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ulysse
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ulysse also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ulysse over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ulysse in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Ulysse
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ulysse — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ulysse
What does the name Ulysse mean?
The Odyssey glosses it as the one who gives or receives anger — Odysseus is named for the resentment he bears.
Why is Odysseus called Ulysses in Latin?
The Greek reached Latin as Ulixes, probably through an Etruscan or south Italian dialect that swapped the consonants.
Is Ulysse used outside France?
It appears in no other market in our data. English uses Ulysses instead, and rarely.
How do you pronounce Ulysse?
oo-LEES, two syllables, with no sounded final e.
How popular is the name Ulysse?
In 2025, Ulysse was given to 495 babies in France, ranking #124 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Ulysse a girl's or a boy's name?
Ulysse is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Ulysse most popular?
Ulysse peaked in 2021, when 535 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Ulysse a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ulysse currently ranks #124 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.