Ulysses
Ulysses was given to 169 boys in 2025, #1,201 among boys’ names; 18,680 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,500 Americans named Ulysses and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (62% of everyone recorded); the median is 33 years old and half are between 17 and 57.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ulysses by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ulysses mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ulysses is “a male given name.” Its etymology gives the sense “Odysseus” (Ulixēs).
From Latin Ulyssēs, a frequent alternative form of Ulixēs (“Odysseus”), influenced by the Ancient Greek Ὀδυσσεύς (Odusseús). Doublet of Odysseus.
/juːˈlɪ.siːz/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ulysses?
#1,201 among boys’ names, 2025
Ulysses fell from #1,085 in 2015 to #1,201 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 94.4 to 98.9 per million.
272 babies in 1999, the peak
Ulysses peaked in 1999, when 272 boys were given it, #641 among boys’ names. The 169 births of 2025 are 62% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 169 | #1,201 | 0.10 |
| 2024 | 152 | #1,294 | 0.09 |
| 2023 | 170 | #1,191 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 191 | #1,118 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 180 | #1,134 | 0.10 |
| 2020 | 188 | #1,068 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 204 | #1,022 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 170 | #1,138 | 0.09 |
| 2017 | 157 | #1,190 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 144 | #1,273 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 181 | #1,085 | 0.09 |
| 2014 | 173 | #1,109 | 0.09 |
| 2013 | 165 | #1,110 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 167 | #1,110 | 0.09 |
| 2011 | 179 | #1,054 | 0.09 |
| 2010 | 183 | #1,055 | 0.10 |
| 2009 | 196 | #1,007 | 0.10 |
| 2008 | 191 | #1,011 | 0.09 |
| 2007 | 191 | #1,013 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 178 | #1,032 | 0.09 |
| 2005 | 177 | #984 | 0.09 |
| 2004 | 155 | #1,047 | 0.08 |
| 2003 | 145 | #1,073 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 208 | #814 | 0.11 |
| 2001 | 226 | #759 | 0.12 |
| 2000 | 217 | #767 | 0.11 |
| 1999 | 272 | #641 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 214 | #751 | 0.11 |
| 1997 | 155 | #895 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 178 | #808 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 140 | #939 | 0.07 |
| 1994 | 139 | #931 | 0.07 |
| 1993 | 146 | #882 | 0.07 |
| 1992 | 151 | #860 | 0.08 |
| 1991 | 159 | #819 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 184 | #748 | 0.09 |
| 1989 | 177 | #743 | 0.09 |
| 1988 | 180 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1987 | 170 | #702 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 138 | #774 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 124 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1984 | 111 | #834 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 103 | #866 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 105 | #870 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 123 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 121 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 121 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1978 | 125 | #758 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 96 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 114 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 108 | #804 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 96 | #824 | 0.06 |
| 1973 | 108 | #769 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 104 | #787 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 118 | #760 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 110 | #787 | 0.06 |
| 1969 | 125 | #704 | 0.07 |
| 1968 | 115 | #706 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 143 | #629 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 106 | #725 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 111 | #711 | 0.06 |
| 1964 | 123 | #698 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 127 | #690 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 132 | #676 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 150 | #638 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 150 | #637 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 142 | #648 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 153 | #622 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 163 | #601 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 164 | #594 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 163 | #576 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 172 | #556 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 164 | #553 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 185 | #513 | 0.10 |
| 1951 | 177 | #512 | 0.09 |
| 1950 | 168 | #516 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 175 | #503 | 0.10 |
| 1948 | 196 | #478 | 0.11 |
| 1947 | 168 | #524 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 158 | #511 | 0.10 |
| 1945 | 114 | #566 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 156 | #490 | 0.11 |
| 1943 | 155 | #499 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 144 | #511 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 139 | #494 | 0.11 |
| 1940 | 154 | #467 | 0.13 |
| 1939 | 144 | #476 | 0.13 |
| 1938 | 153 | #469 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 122 | #525 | 0.11 |
| 1936 | 121 | #513 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 171 | #429 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 143 | #477 | 0.14 |
| 1933 | 140 | #476 | 0.14 |
| 1932 | 161 | #444 | 0.15 |
| 1931 | 147 | #469 | 0.14 |
| 1930 | 148 | #489 | 0.13 |
| 1929 | 158 | #466 | 0.15 |
| 1928 | 174 | #460 | 0.16 |
| 1927 | 181 | #456 | 0.16 |
| 1926 | 173 | #459 | 0.16 |
| 1925 | 192 | #429 | 0.17 |
| 1924 | 177 | #463 | 0.16 |
| 1923 | 201 | #426 | 0.18 |
| 1922 | 194 | #434 | 0.18 |
| 1921 | 199 | #434 | 0.18 |
| 1920 | 190 | #440 | 0.18 |
| 1919 | 164 | #463 | 0.17 |
| 1918 | 187 | #429 | 0.18 |
| 1917 | 159 | #449 | 0.17 |
| 1916 | 160 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1915 | 133 | #484 | 0.16 |
| 1914 | 111 | #458 | 0.17 |
| 1913 | 99 | #429 | 0.19 |
| 1912 | 75 | #460 | 0.17 |
| 1911 | 51 | #403 | 0.23 |
| 1910 | 43 | #413 | 0.22 |
| 1909 | 36 | #418 | 0.22 |
| 1908 | 33 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1907 | 38 | #365 | 0.26 |
| 1906 | 32 | #386 | 0.24 |
| 1905 | 25 | #450 | 0.19 |
| 1904 | 29 | #389 | 0.23 |
| 1903 | 21 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1902 | 21 | #474 | 0.17 |
| 1901 | 25 | #379 | 0.23 |
| 1900 | 34 | #384 | 0.23 |
| 1899 | 14 | #546 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 33 | #338 | 0.27 |
| 1897 | 25 | #383 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 32 | #337 | 0.27 |
| 1895 | 43 | #272 | 0.37 |
| 1894 | 34 | #304 | 0.29 |
| 1893 | 36 | #291 | 0.32 |
| 1892 | 27 | #374 | 0.22 |
| 1891 | 34 | #282 | 0.34 |
| 1890 | 32 | #310 | 0.29 |
| 1889 | 19 | #431 | 0.17 |
| 1888 | 25 | #375 | 0.21 |
| 1887 | 27 | #324 | 0.27 |
| 1886 | 38 | #279 | 0.34 |
| 1885 | 33 | #296 | 0.31 |
| 1884 | 23 | #373 | 0.20 |
| 1883 | 14 | #494 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 15 | #487 | 0.13 |
| 1881 | 18 | #413 | 0.18 |
| 1880 | 29 | #317 | 0.26 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ulysses a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ulysses has been given almost only to boys: 25 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ulysses: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ulysses, and how old are they?
11,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 62% of the 18,680 Americans ever recorded as Ulysses. The median Ulysses alive today is 33 years old; half are between 17 and 57.
The 2020 Census counted 9,490 people named Ulysses (50 women and girls, 9,440 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,380 born in the U.S. The Census count is 17% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 498 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,980 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,610 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,220 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,230 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ulysses born?
The states with the most babies named Ulysses are California, Texas and Arizona, with 60% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Arizona is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 44 | #642 | 1.7× |
| Texas | 18 | #1,212 | 1.1× |
| Arizona | 10 | #670 | 1.0× |
| Florida | 9 | #1,345 | 1.9× |
| Illinois | 8 | #1,012 | 0.9× |
| Washington | 6 | #987 | 0.3× |
| Utah | 6 | #697 | 0.0× |
| Georgia | 5 | #1,533 | 3.0× |
| New York | 5 | #2,021 | 0.5× |
| North Carolina | 5 | #1,450 | 1.0× |
Where Ulysses is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ulysses is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 3.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ulysses with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 34,454 babies since 1880, Ulysses is the most given (54% of them). In 2025 it was given to 169 of their 406 babies (42%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ulysses
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ulysses and names like it
- Compare Ulysses and UlisesBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sUlysses peaked in 1999.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ulysses since 1910.
- The top names of 1999The year the most babies were named Ulysses.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Ulysses alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with UMost given first.