How Many People Are Named Ulysses Smith?

There are approximately 95 people named Ulysses Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,607,940 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Ulysses with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Smith. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

95

1 in 3,607,940 Americans

Combination Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

Ulysses: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Ulysses. The peak year was 1999 with 272 births. The average person named Ulysses today is 40 years old.

Male
Female
0 54 109 163 218 272 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name Ulysses

In the 2020 Census, the first name Ulysses was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Hispanic (43.93%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (37.41%) and White (10.89%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Ulysses in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Ulysses rose or fell over time.

White
10.89%
Black
37.41%
Hispanic
43.93%
Asian/Pacific Islander
4.53%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.60%
Two or More Races
2.63%

Ancestry of the Smith Surname

The surname Smith was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Smith in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White
67.99%
Black
22.62%
Hispanic
3.50%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.68%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.83%
Two or More Races
4.37%

How we calculated this

The first name "Ulysses" has an estimated frequency of < 0.0001% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Smith" appears at a rate of 792.79 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Ulysses are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 95 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Ulysses Smith: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Ulysses Smith?

We estimate approximately 95 people named Ulysses Smith are alive in the United States today. The first name Ulysses is shared by 12,009 Americans, and the surname Smith is shared by 2,717,332.

How rare is the name Ulysses Smith?

This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,607,940 Americans. The first name Ulysses is uncommon and the surname Smith is very common.

Is Ulysses a male or female name?

Ulysses is predominantly male, with 99.9% of bearers being male and 0.1% female. It peaked in popularity in 1999 and the average bearer today is 40 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Ulysses?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Ulysses was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Hispanic (43.93%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (37.41%) and White (10.89%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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