boy's name

Ulysses

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 3
  • Letters 7
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 18,799

Ulysses is a boy's name with 3 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 169 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Peaked in 1999, when 272 babies were given the name.
  • Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 19,617 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.

Ulysses over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

1,884
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Ulysses by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 241
1890s 310
1900s 294
1910s 1,182
1920s 1,844
1930s 1,455
1940s 1,559
1950s 1,651
1960s 1,287
1970s 1,100
1980s 1,357
1990s 1,743
2000s 1,884
2010s 1,723
2020s (to 2025) 1,050

How popular is Ulysses?

In 2025, Ulysses was given to 169 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Ulysses is used

United States #1,203 169 in 2025
Canada #3,085 6 in 2023
England & Wales #6,467 3 in 2025
France #6,572 5 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Ulysses

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Ulysses also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ulysses over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Ulysses

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ulysses — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Ulysses

How popular is the name Ulysses?

In 2025, Ulysses was given to 169 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Ulysses a girl's or a boy's name?

Ulysses is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Ulysses?

Ulysses has 3 syllables.

When was Ulysses most popular?

Ulysses peaked in 1999, when 272 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.

Is Ulysses a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ulysses currently ranks #1,203 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.