How Many People Are Named Ulysses?
An estimated 12,009 people in the United States have the first name Ulysses. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 40 years old, and Ulysses peaked in popularity in 1999 with 272 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ulysses as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ulysses paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
12,009
About 1 in 28,541 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.9% confidence
Average Age
40
years old
Peak Year
1999
272 births
Total Registered
18,509
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ulysses
Ulysses is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 18,509 total births registered, 99.9% were male.
Ulysses as a male name
Ranked #1,291 in 2024
152 male births in 2024
Peak: 1999 (272 births)
Ulysses as a female name
Ranked #15,358 in 1991
5 female births in 1991
Peak: 1921 (5 births)
Ulysses: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ulysses span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 1,884 babies were registered. While Ulysses is less common than at its peak in the 2000s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Ulysses by Decade
How has Ulysses tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 241 | 241 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 310 | 310 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 294 | 294 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,182 | 1,182 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 1,844 | 1,839 | 5 | |
| 1930s | 1,455 | 1,450 | 5 | |
| 1940s | 1,559 | 1,559 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 1,651 | 1,651 | 0 | |
| 1960s | 1,287 | 1,282 | 5 | |
| 1970s | 1,100 | 1,100 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 1,356 | 1,351 | 5 | |
| 1990s | 1,743 | 1,738 | 5 | |
| 2000s | 1,884 | 1,884 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,723 | 1,723 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 880 | 880 | 0 | |
Ulysses by State
Birth registrations for Ulysses span all 34 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Georgia, Texas. The lowest are in New Mexico, Nebraska, Nevada. On average, about 392 Ulyssess were registered per state.
Ulysses + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ulysses as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ulysses
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
Ulysses: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ulysses?
We estimate approximately 12,009 people named Ulysses are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 28,541 Americans share this first name.
Is Ulysses a common name?
Ulysses is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 18,509 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ulysses most popular?
Ulysses reached peak popularity in 1999, when 272 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ulysses is approximately 40 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ulysses a male name?
Ulysses is predominantly male. 99.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ulysses Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ulysses Smith, Ulysses Johnson, Ulysses Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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