Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: debated

The name is found in Homer’s The Odyssey as the name of the protagonist based on a Greek mythological hero who fought in the Trojan war. The same character appears in Roman mythology under the name Ulysses.

Many sources agree that Odysseus may derive from the Greek ὀδύσσομαι (odussomai) meaning, “hated.” Other sources have argued that the name may in fact derive from a non Indo European source of an uncertain etymology.

In American history, the name was borne by the illustrious civil war general and former President Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885). James Joyce used the Latin version for the title character of his 1922 book, which was loosely based on The Odyssey.

Currently, its Spanish form of Ulises is the 98th most popular male name in Mexico (2010) and the 555th most popular in the United States, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

• Odusseus (Afrikaans)
• Ulis Ўліc (Belarusian)
• Odisej Одисей (Bulgarian/Croatian/Macedonian/Serbian/Slovene)
• Odisseu (Catalan)
• Ulisses (Catalan)
• Ulysses (English/Latin/Scandinavian)
• Uthuze (Etruscan)
• Ulysse (French)
• Odysseus Οδυσσευ (Greek)
• Odüsszeusz (Hungarian)
• Odisseo (Italian)
• Ulisse (Italian)
• Odisėjas (Lithuanian)
• Uliksas (Lithuanian)
• Ulisses (Occitanian/Portuguese)
• Odyseusz (Polish)
• Odisseu (Portuguese)
• Odiseu (Romanian)
• Ulise (Romanian)
• Odissej Одиссей (Russian)
• Ulissi (Sicilian)
• Ulikses (Slovene)
• Odiseo (Spanish)
• Ulises (Spanish)
• Odysews (Welsh)
• Wlysses (Welsh)

An obscure feminine form is Ulyssa.

Sources

1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/ulysses
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus
3. http://www.babycenter.com.mx/pregnancy/nombres/nombres_populares_2010/