The nameUlysse

Meaning

Ulysse comes from the Latin Ulixes, a form of the Greek Odysseus. Its meaning is debated; the ancients linked it to odyssomai, "to be angry".

Origin

Greek. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, devised the Trojan Horse and then took ten years to return home, according to Homer's Odyssey.

History

Joachim du Bellay's poem "Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage" and James Joyce's novel Ulysses kept the name alive. It came back in the 2010s and has reached its highest level in France in recent years.

Famous people named Ulysse

• Ulysses (Odysseus), hero of the Odyssey

Popularity of the name Ulysse

Ulysse in France

Ulysse was most popular in France in the 2010s, with 3,240 births over the decade, 25% of all recorded babies named Ulysse. Half of all babies named Ulysse in France were born before 2008, so it is mostly a name of today's children and teenagers. Over the last five years on record, its popularity has held steady at around 463 births a year.

Ulysse in Belgium

Ulysse was most popular in Belgium in the 2020s, with 278 births over the decade, 40% of all recorded babies named Ulysse. Half of all babies named Ulysse in Belgium were born before 2018, so it is mostly a name of today's children and teenagers. Over the last five years on record, it has been rising: 46 births a year on average, against 35 in the five years before.