Coming up with ten boy names that start with U is hard enough. This list runs to 100, pulled from scripture, small Basque and Baltic towns, Igbo and Cherokee, Norse sagas, and a few writers who simply invented one.
The federal numbers explain why the letter feels so empty. Only two U names for boys sit inside the U.S. top 1,000, Uriel at 446th and Uriah at 650th in 2025 (1). Most of the names below never appear in that data at all, because the Social Security Administration will not publish a name with fewer than five births (2). Naming analyst Laura Wattenberg has called U “perennially ultra-rare,” and the record agrees with her.
Each entry below gives you the origin, meaning, pronunciation, real namesakes where they exist, and the American ranking wherever the data has one. Rare is the theme here, but a few of these are ready to use today.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Uriel, Uriah, Umar, Ulysses and Usher.
100 Best Male Names That Start with U
Become a pro with boy names that start with U.
Ua
Ua is a Native American boy’s name carrying the meaning true wife, which is an odd promise to hand a son and part of what makes it interesting. The same two letters do separate duty in Vietnamese, where Uà lands closer to wow than to any given name, and two letters is about as short as a name gets, so nobody will ever ask Ua to spell it twice.
- Origin: Native American, Vietnamese
- Meaning: True wife
- Pronunciation: YUW-aey
- Popularity: Ua stays below the five-birth line the U.S. Social Security Administration needs before it will publish a name, so there is no American ranking for it. Wider counts place it mainly in India, with a 773rd-place showing in Vietnam in 2014.
Uaithne
Uaithne grows out of the Gaelic uaine and the Old Irish úanne, both meaning green. Irish mythology gives it a second life as the name of the Dagda’s harp, and the word stretches further still, covering wood, work, pillar and harmony. The Uaithni were an early Irish people settled around medieval Limerick, so a place and a people ride along with the sound. Nothing about it is soft.
- Origin: Irish, Gaelic
- Meaning: Green
- Pronunciation: Yuw-AETH-nee
- Variations: Uaethne, Uathne, Uaythne
Ualan
Ualan is the Scottish answer to Valentine, and it keeps the older sense of that Latin root: someone strong and in good health. Gaelic reshapes the name completely, trading the familiar V for a U and smoothing the ending into Uailean in its second spelling. For a Scottish name that has never been near the American charts, this one is about as untouched as they come.
- Origin: Scottish, Gaelic
- Meaning: Healthy
- Pronunciation: Yuw-AH-lahn
- Variations: Uailean
- Popularity: Ualan is extremely rare worldwide, with 75 known occurrences in 2014, primarily in Brazil.
Uarkhag
Uarkhag comes out of Ossetian mythology, where he stands at the head of the Narts, the race of heroes whose stories fill the Caucasus epic. The name traces back to the Scythian varka, meaning wolf, and what survives is the sense of being wolf-like rather than simply named for one, a heavy inheritance for a small boy that is precisely the appeal for some parents.
- Origin: Russian, Ossetian
- Meaning: Like a wolf
- Pronunciation: Unknown
- Variations: Uark Hag
- Popularity: Uarkhag is extremely rare worldwide, with only seven known occurrences in 2014 in Russia.
Uatsilla
Uatsilla belongs to Ossetian religious life, where Uacilla is the thunderer and lord of storms, and where the figure took on the role of Saint Elijah as Christianity arrived. The fuller form is Hory-Uacilla, and the same word names an agricultural holiday held after Pentecost. A name for weather this big is not a quiet choice, and the story behind it is worth telling.
- Origin: Ossetian
- Meaning: God of thunder
- Pronunciation: Oow-AHT-sihl-Ah
- Variations: Uacilla
Uatu
Uatu arrived through Marvel Comics, where the Watcher observes everything and is sworn never to step in. He turned up first in the pages of The Fantastic Four, and outside that world the name has barely been used. The sound is soft and open, closer to a nickname than to anything cosmic. Comic readers catch the reference instantly; nobody else does.
- Origin: Fictional
- Meaning: The watcher
- Pronunciation: Uw-AH-tuw
- Popularity: Uatu is extremely rare worldwide, with just six known occurrences in 2014, mostly in India.
Ubaldo
Ubaldo is the Italian take on the Old German Hugbald, built from hugu, meaning mind and thought, and bald, meaning brave. Together they describe a bold thinker, which is a rare thing for a name to promise outright. Hugo grew from the same root, so Ubaldo offers a familiar family with a far less familiar face. It travels as a rare Spanish surname too, best known in the Philippines and Mexico.
- Origin: Italian, Spanish
- Meaning: Bold mind
- Pronunciation: Yuw-BAAL-doh
- Variations: Uboldo, Ubald
- Namesakes: Ubaldo Ranzi, an Italian decathlete and gold medalist at the 1999 FIBT World Championships. Ubaldo Righetti, an Italian footballer for A.S. Roma.
- Popularity: Ubaldo has been in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1914, sitting at 7,641st in 2025 and well off its 1975 best of 1,592nd. Outside the U.S. it is most used in Mexico, where it ranked 466th in 2014.
Ubbe
Ubbe began as a short form for longer Germanic names such as Ulfr, Wolfhard and Urbanus, which is where the wolfish meaning comes from. The first famous bearer was a 9th-century leader of the great Viking army, and television has kept that memory in circulation; two syllables, one hard B, no spelling argument.
- Origin: German, Norse
- Meaning: Wolf, unfriendly
- Pronunciation: OOW-bah
- Variations: Ubba
- Popularity: Ubbe is extremely rare worldwide, with 75 known occurrences in 2014, primarily in Germany.
Uberto
Uberto is the Italian answer to the German Hubert, and it means what Hubert means: a bright mind. The parts are hugu, meaning spirit, and beraht, meaning bright. Centuries of drift have left it in many shapes, from Ulberto and Umberto to Obert and Abert, so a family with any of those in its past has a claim on this one.
- Origin: Italian, German
- Meaning: Bright or shining intellect
- Pronunciation: UW-BEHR-toh
- Variations: Umberto
- Namesakes: Uberto Zanolli, an Italian-Mexican composer and the Orquesta de Cámara de la ENP-UNAM director from 1972 to 1994. Uberto Pasolini, an Italian film producer known for The Full Monty (1997).
- Popularity: Uberto is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Italy, where it ranked 1,714th in 2014.
Ubirajara
Ubirajara comes from Tupi, where ybyra means stick or spear and îara means lord. Brazil knows it best from José de Alencar’s 1874 novel, which set the name in the country’s literary canon, and paleontologists later attached it to an ancient Brazilian dinosaur; five syllables is a lot to hand a newborn, though Bira falls out of it without any effort.
- Origin: Brazilian, Tupi
- Meaning: Lord of the spear
- Pronunciation: Uw-BIY-raa-Jah-raa
- Popularity: Ubirajara is rare worldwide and mainly used in Brazil, ranking 1,113rd in 2014.
Uche
Uche means thoughts and wisdom in Igbo, and it reaches further to cover intention, will and sense. It stands alone comfortably and also serves as the short form of longer Igbo names such as Uchechukwu and Uchendu. Two syllables, no silent letters, and a meaning any parent would sign off on.
- Origin: Nigerian, Igbo
- Meaning: Thinker
- Pronunciation: Uw-CHEAY
- Namesakes: Uche Nduka, a Nigerian-American writer awarded the Association of Nigerian Authors Prize for Poetry in 1997. Uche Iheruome, a Nigerian football player for Thanh Hóa.
- Popularity: Uche has surfaced in U.S. Social Security Administration data only once, at 12,658th in 2003, and has not returned since. In Nigeria, where it is most used, it ranked 134th in 2014.
Udo
Udo works as a German pet form of both Ulric and Otto, which is how it came to mean heritage and good fortune at once. It has a second home in Nigeria, where Igbo speakers read it as peace; round, short and easy in either language, it is the kind of name that crosses continents without being mangled.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Heritage
- Pronunciation: UW-Dow
- Variations: Uto
- Namesakes: Udo Kier, a German actor known for Shadow of the Vampire (2000). Udo Hempel, a German road and track cyclist and gold medalist at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Udo is rare worldwide and mostly used in Germany, ranking 156th in 2014.
Uduak
Uduak means desire or will in Ibibio, a language spoken across southern Nigeria, and it is given there to boys and girls alike. Common enough at home to feel ordinary, it lands abroad as a discovery. The hard K ending keeps three soft syllables from turning delicate.
- Origin: Nigerian, Ibibio
- Meaning: Desire
- Pronunciation: UW-doo-Ahk
- Popularity: Uduak is rare worldwide and mainly used in Nigeria, where it ranked 377th in 2014.
Ueli
Ueli is the Swiss form of Ulrich, built from the Germanic uodal, meaning heritage, and rihhi, meaning powerful. In Switzerland it reads as thoroughly everyday, worn by politicians and Olympic cyclists, which is not something you can say about most names on this list. English speakers stumble on that opening vowel, so a pronunciation note earns its keep. What you get in return is real history rather than an invention.
- Origin: Swiss
- Meaning: Rich heritage
- Pronunciation: UW-liy
- Namesakes: Ueli Maurer, a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2022. Ueli Sutter, a Swiss cyclist who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Ueli is rare worldwide and primarily used in Switzerland, ranking 171st in 2014.
Uew
Uew looks like a typing slip and is not one. It sits among the Frisian reworkings of Old German names beginning with Ul-, Ud- or Od-, while others trace it to the Scandinavian Ove, read as inheritance or the edge of a sword. The closely related Uwe is the spelling German records actually use, which is why every namesake here wears that version. Choosing Uew means choosing to explain it, every time.
- Origin: German, Scandinavian
- Meaning: Heritage
- Pronunciation: YUW
- Namesakes: Uwe Freiler, a German footballer for FC 08 Homburg. Uwe Hüser, a German member of the Bundestag from 1987 to 1990.
- Popularity: Uew is extremely rare worldwide, with just five known occurrences in 2014, mostly in Malaysia and Thailand.
Ufuk
Ufuk means horizon in Turkish, borrowed from the Arabic ufuq with the sense intact. Turkey gives it to boys and girls both, and it is ordinary enough there to carry no novelty at all; the meaning is the whole draw, a name pointing at open distance rather than at a saint or a king.
- Origin: Turkish, Arabic
- Meaning: Horizon
- Pronunciation: Uw-FOOK
- Namesakes: Ufuk Sarıca, a Turkish basketball player and current head coach of Pınar Karşıyaka. Ufuk Bayraktar, a Turkish actor appearing in Destiny (2006).
- Popularity: Ufuk is rare worldwide and mainly used in Turkey, where it ranked 306th in 2014.
Ugène
Ugène is an off-center spelling of Eugene, which began as the Greek eugenēs, from eu, meaning well, and genos, meaning born. The accent does the work here, pulling the sound away from the American Eugene and toward something French. A family with a Eugene in its history could use this as a quiet nod instead of a repeat.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Noble
- Pronunciation: Uw-JHIYN
- Variations: Eugene
- Popularity: Ugène is extremely rare worldwide, with just one known occurrence in 2014 in Belgium.
Ugo
Ugo is Hugo with the H filed off, taken from the Old German hugu, meaning heart, mind and spirit. Italy has used it for centuries and softens it further into Ugolino. It is also an Igbo name in Nigeria, which gives one short word two entirely separate homes. If Hugo now feels too well used, this is the same name wearing a different hat.
- Origin: Italian, Spanish
- Meaning: Mind
- Pronunciation: YUW-goh
- Variations: Hugo
- Namesakes: Ugo Tognazzi, an Italian actor known for Barbarella (1968). Ugo Gabrieli, an Italian footballer for Martina.
- Popularity: Ugo has appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records on and off since 1913, peaking at 1,824th in 1921 and last recorded at 14,102nd in 2024. Italy, where it is most used, ranked it 189th in 2014.
Uğur
Uğur means luck in Turkish and doubles as the word for a good omen, which is about as warm a wish as a name can carry. Turkish parents give it to daughters as well as sons, and that soft G in the middle is silent to English ears and simply stretches the vowel, so the name sounds gentler than it looks.
- Origin: Turkish, Azerbaijani
- Meaning: Good luck
- Pronunciation: UW-OOR
- Namesakes: Uğur Dündar, a Turkish journalist and anchorman for Star TV. Uğur Pektaş, a Turkish actor best known for the series Arka Sokaklar.
- Popularity: Uğur is rare worldwide and mostly used in Turkey, where it ranked 64th in 2014.
Uhtred
Uhtred is Old English and stubbornly obscure, usually tied to raed, meaning counsel, though the first half resists a clean answer. Medieval records hold two real bearers, a 12th-century Bishop of Llandaff and a Lord of Galloway, with the variant Wihtred and the surname Oughtred close by. The spelling looks harder than the name actually sounds.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Advice
- Pronunciation: UW-Trehd
- Namesakes: Uhtred, the Welsh Bishop of Llandaff from 1140 to 1148. Uhtred mac Fergus, the Scottish Lord of Galloway from 1161 to 1174.
- Popularity: Uhtred first entered U.S. Social Security Administration data in 2017, reached 4,178th in 2022 and stood at 7,642nd in 2025.
Uhuru
Uhuru is the Swahili word for freedom, and independence travels with it. The name belongs to a political moment: Kenya’s fourth president carried it, and the Uhuru Movement founded in 1972 took it as a banner; few names state a value this plainly, which is the reason parents reach for it.
- Origin: African, Swahili
- Meaning: Freedom
- Pronunciation: Uw-HUW-roo
- Variations: Uhura
- Namesakes: Uhuru Hamiter, an American football player for the New Orleans Saints. Uhuru Kenyatta, the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.
- Popularity: Uhuru appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration data from 1970, reached 3,642nd in 1971 and was last recorded at 4,479th in 1973.
Uilliam
Uilliam is the medieval Irish form of William, and it means what William means: a strong-willed protector, by way of the Frankish Willahelm and its helmet of will. Liam, now everywhere, is a clipping of this longer name, which makes Uilliam the road not taken. Autocorrect and relatives will both try to fix the spelling, so commit or choose Liam.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Helmet of will
- Pronunciation: UW-liy-Aem
- Variations: William
- Popularity: Uilliam entered U.S. Social Security Administration records in 2013, did best at 7,577th in 2018 and last appeared at 14,103rd in 2024.
Ùisdean
Ùisdean comes from the Old Norse Eysteinn, made of ei, meaning forever, and steinn, meaning stone, though Gaelic speakers have long treated it as their answer to Hugh. Hùisdean is the same name with a breath in front of it. Scottish broadcasting and Scottish politics each have a Ùisdean on the record, so it is no museum piece at home. The grave accent is not decoration; drop it and the vowel changes.
- Origin: Scottish, Gaelic
- Meaning: Intelligent
- Pronunciation: UWS-Deeyn
- Variations: Hùisdean
- Namesakes: Ùisdean MacIllFhinnein (known as Hugh Dan MacLennan), a Scottish broadcaster with BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. Uisdean MacDonald (also known as High MacDonald), a Scottish vice-chairman of the Scottish National Party in 1969.
U-Jin
U-Jin pairs the Korean boy’s name Jin, read as jewel or truth, with a first syllable that widens the sense toward abundant and valuable, and Yu-jin is the same name under a different romanization that Korean records use just as often. The hyphen marks where the two syllables meet, the same shape the poet Kim U-jin published under.
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Genuine, blessing
- Pronunciation: Yuw-JIHN
- Variations: Yu-Jin
- Namesakes: Kim U-jin, a Korean writer known for the poem Theory of Life and Death.
- Popularity: U-Jin is rare worldwide and mostly used in South Korea, where it ranked 38th in 2014.
Ukiah
Ukiah is a place name first, a town in Mendocino County, California, on land the Pomo people named. The root is yokoyo, meaning deep valley, and the sound has aged into something that reads modern rather than historical. It shares the open ending of Isaiah and Josiah without repeating either.
- Origin: Native American, Pomo
- Meaning: Deep valley
- Pronunciation: Yuw-KAEY-aa
- Variations: Ukia, Ukya, Ukyah
- Popularity: Ukiah has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 2001, did best at 5,538th in 2003 and held 8,205th in 2025.
Ukko
Ukko is the Finnish word for a grandfather or an old man, handed to the newest person in the family, which is a joke Finnish parents have enjoyed for generations. Behind it stands Uku, god of sky, harvest and thunder in Finnish and Estonian myth, and four spellings circulate, from Ucco to Uko, though the doubled K is the one Finland uses.
- Origin: Finnish
- Meaning: Grandfather
- Pronunciation: YUW-Kow
- Variations: Ucco, Ucko, Uco, Uko
- Namesakes: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a Finnish ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres.
- Popularity: Ukko is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Finland, ranking 1,525th in 2014.
Uladzimir
Uladzimir is the Belarusian form of Vladimir, descended from the Old Slavic Volodiměrŭ. Its parts are vladět, meaning to rule, and mir, meaning peace, so the whole reads as ruling well rather than ruling hard. Belarus has given the name to writers and government ministers, and the spelling is the point: same name, different country, different alphabet behind it.
- Origin: Belarusian, Slavic
- Meaning: To rule peacefully
- Pronunciation: Uw-LAHD-sih-Mear
- Variations: Vladimir
- Namesakes: Uladzimir Navumau, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus from 2000 to 2009. Uladzimir Karatkievich, a Belarusian writer known for the 1964 novel King Stakh’s Wild Hunt.
- Popularity: Uladzimir is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Belarus, where it ranked 791st in 2014.
Ulderico
Ulderico is the ornate Italian version of Ulric, resting on the Old German Uodalrich. Break it apart and you get audaz, meaning homeland, and rīkijaz, meaning royal, which Italian reads as the power that comes with inheritance. Saint Ulrich, the 10th-century Bishop of Augsburg, gave the name its staying power in Catholic Europe. Five syllables make it formal by nature, so it suits a family that likes a full-dress first name.
- Origin: Italian, German
- Meaning: Merciful ruler
- Pronunciation: Uhl-deh-RIYK-ow
- Variations: Uldericco
- Namesakes: Ulderico Pesce, an Italian actor known for Passannante (2011).
- Popularity: Ulderico is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Italy, ranking 1,052nd in 2014.
Ulf
Ulf is the Old Norse úlfr, meaning wolf, with nothing added and nothing softened. It was already in use in 11th-century Sweden, and Ylva is its female counterpart, so a family can pair the two; one syllable ending in a consonant cluster gives it the blunt force Scandinavian names are chosen for.
- Origin: German, Scandinavian
- Meaning: Wolf
- Pronunciation: AUHLF
- Variations: Ulv
- Namesakes: Ulf Samuelsson, a Swedish-American ice hockey assistant coach for the Florida Panthers. Ulf Pilgaard, a Danish actor known for Farligt venskab (1995).
- Popularity: Ulf reached U.S. Social Security Administration data exactly once, at 4,398th in 1965. Sweden keeps it in far heavier use, ranking it 23rd there in 2023.
Ulfin
Ulfin has no settled meaning, and the honest answer is that nobody knows. The likeliest thread runs back to the Scandinavian ulf, meaning wolf, which would make this a diminutive of Ulf. It is better documented as a “U” surname, and roughly 75 percent of the people carrying it live in Asia. A name with an open question at the center is not for everyone.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Unknown
- Pronunciation: AULF-ihn
- Variations: Ulf
- Popularity: Ulfin is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Indonesia.
Ulfric
Ulfric puts two Norse words together, ulf for wolf and ric for ruler, and the result is exactly as commanding as it sounds. It has also been read as a king of the elves and treated as an Old Swedish variant of Ulfrikr. A jarl in a popular fantasy video game carries the name too, though the Social Security Administration has never recorded enough U.S. births to chart it.
- Origin: Scandinavian, Norse
- Meaning: Wolf ruler
- Pronunciation: AUL-frik
- Variations: Ulfrik, Ulfrick
Úlfur
Úlfur is Icelandic for wolf, a variation on Ulfr built from the Old Norse úlfr, and Icelanders also use it to describe someone as fierce as the animal rather than merely named after it. Composer Úlfur Hansson carries the accented form on record, while Ulfer is the plainer spelling that drops it.
- Origin: Icelandic
- Meaning: Wolf
- Pronunciation: AULF-ehr
- Variations: Ulfer
- Namesakes: Úlfur Hansson, an Icelandic songwriter named the 2013 Young Composer of the Year at the International Rostrum of Composers,
- Popularity: Úlfur is extremely rare worldwide, with 20 known occurrences in 2014, mainly in Iceland, ranking 1,689th.
Uli
Uli is the short form shared by a whole family of Scandinavian and German names beginning with Ul-, most of which carry the old Germanic sense of young alongside a rich, powerful heritage. A second thread ties it to the Latin ursus and the idea of a little bear. Germany uses it for men and women both, on drummers and film directors alike.
- Origin: German, Scandinavian
- Meaning: Young
- Pronunciation: UW-liy
- Variations: Ulli, Ulie, Ueli
- Namesakes: Uli Kusch, a German heavy metal drummer for Helloween. Uli Edel, a German director known for the 1996 TV movie Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.
- Popularity: Uli has reached U.S. Social Security Administration data only once, at 19,363rd in 2012. Germany, where it is most used, ranked it 679th in 2014.
Ulick
Ulick is a genuinely obscure Gaelic boy’s name meaning little William, worn down from the Irish Uilleac and Uilleag. A second line ties it to the Old Norse Hugleikr, read as spirit play, which drops it into the same family as Hugo, and Irish politics and French football have each supplied a bearer, so it is documented rather than theoretical.
- Origin: Irish, Gaelic
- Meaning: Little William
- Pronunciation: YUW-lihk
- Variations: Ulic, Ulik, Ulyc, Ulyck, Ulyk
- Namesakes: Ulick Burke, an Irish Teachta Dála for Galway East from 2007 to 2011. Ulick Lupede, a French footballer for C.O. Saint-Saturnin Arche.
- Popularity: Ulick is rare worldwide and primarily used in Ireland, where it ranked 1,857th in 2014.
Ulloriaq
Ulloriaq is Greenlandic and comes from the Eskimo-Aleut Uvdloriak, meaning star. The root uvlu means morning, so the fuller sense is star-like. Greenland uses it for boys and girls alike, keeping the Q intact since Uloriaq and Uloryaq are the versions that drop it.
- Origin: Greenlandic
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: Uw-LOHR-iy-Ak
- Variations: Uloriaq, Uloryaq
- Popularity: Ulloriaq is extremely rare worldwide, with 17 known occurrences in 2014, mainly in Greenland.
Ulmer
Ulmer started as a German surname for someone from the city of Ulm, which is the plainest possible origin story. A second reading links it to the German dolmar, from odal, meaning inherited property, and mār, meaning famous; surnames make convenient first names precisely because they sound settled already.
- Origin: Norse, German
- Meaning: Famous wolf
- Pronunciation: AHL-Mer
- Variations: Ullmer, Ulmar
- Popularity: Ulmer has been in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1911 and did best at 2,927th in 1935, which is also the last year it appeared.
Ulmo
Ulmo means from Ulm in Germany, the same city that produced Ulmer. Tolkien readers know it as the King of the Sea among the Ainur, which is how the name reached tabletop gaming. Between the German city and the Middle-earth sea lord, this is one of the few names that is both geographic and mythic without stretching.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: From Ulm
- Pronunciation: UHL-Mow
- Variations: Ulmer
- Popularity: Ulmo is extremely rare worldwide, with just 11 known occurrences in 2014, mostly in Indonesia.
Ülo
Ülo grows out of the ancient Finnish Ilo, meaning joy, and leans on the Estonian ülev, meaning noble. German gives the same word to the blade of a harpoon or lance, which is a strange third meaning to keep in your pocket. Estonia has put it on writers and national-team basketball players, so it wears adult life comfortably. The umlaut changes the vowel and should not be dropped.
- Origin: Finnish, Estonian
- Meaning: Joy, noble
- Pronunciation: UW-low
- Namesakes: Ülo Mattheus, an Estonian writer and press consultant for the Riigikogu from 2005 to 2013. Ülo Varul, an Estonian basketball player for the Estonia men’s national basketball team.
- Popularity: Ülo is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Nigeria.
Ulric
Ulric descends from the Old English Wulfric, built from wulf, meaning wolf, and ric, meaning rule. The Old German Uodalrich pushes it toward a second sense, the power that comes with a rich inheritance, and Ulrick, Ulrik and Ullric all circulate, so the family can pick its favorite consonant.
- Origin: English, German
- Meaning: Power of the wolf
- Pronunciation: UHL-rik
- Variations: Ullric, Ulrick, Ulrik, Ulryck
- Namesakes: Ulric Browne, an English actor known for the soap opera EastEnders. Ulric Nisbet, an English writer of Thoughts on the Purpose of Art (1934).
- Popularity: Ulric has been in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1912, peaked at 2,425th in 1925 and still appeared in 2025 at 10,595th.
Ultan
Ultan means a man from Ulster, which makes it one of the most literal Irish names you can give. Eighteen Irish saints carried it, and St. Ultan’s Hospital, the first in Ireland built for infants, keeps the name in daily use. A Michelin-starred chef and a rugby international carry it now. For a family with Ulster roots, the name says so without a word of explanation.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Man from Ulster
- Pronunciation: UHL-Tahn
- Variations: Ulltan, Ulltann, Ultann, Ulttan
- Namesakes: Ultan Cooke, an Irish head chef awarded a Michelin star for his work at Aniar in Galway. Ultan Dillane, an Irish rugby union player for La Rochelle.
- Popularity: Ultan is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Ireland, where it ranked 727th in 2014.
Ultron
Ultron means avenger in Latin, though the name reached the wider world through Marvel Comics rather than Rome. He debuted in the pages of The Avengers and rules over an army of clones called Ultron Drones. Records from 2014 turned up exactly one person using it, as a surname, in South Africa. That leaves a small boy with a villain’s name and a very good story to tell about it.
- Origin: Latin, Fictional
- Meaning: Avenger
- Pronunciation: UHL-trohn
Ulugbek
Ulugbek joins ulug, meaning great, to bek, meaning leader, and Uzbek speakers read the whole as the greatest of leaders. The name honors Ulugh Beg, the 15th-century sultan, and a town in the Tashkent Region carries it too. An Olympic taekwondo gold medalist has made it familiar to a new generation.
- Origin: Uzbek, Turkish
- Meaning: Great king
- Pronunciation: UHL-ugg-Bek
- Variations: Ulug’bek
- Namesakes: Ulugbek Rashitov, an Uzbekistan taekwondo practitioner and gold medalist at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Ulugbek entered U.S. Social Security Administration data in 2018, did best at 7,098th that year and last appeared at 13,983rd in 2019. Uzbekistan, where it is most used, ranked it 19th in 2014.
Ulysses
Ulysses is the Latin spelling of the Greek Odysseus, and the meanings that cling to it are the long voyage and the wrath that set it going. Homer supplied the hero, James Joyce supplied the novel, and an American president supplied the proof that it works on a real person; it peaked at 426th in 1923 and still stood at 1,201st in 2025, holding on longer than most of the names on this list.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Wrathful
- Pronunciation: Yuw-LIHS-iyz
- Variations: Ulices, Ulyssees
- Namesakes: Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the U.S. from 1869 to 1877. Ulysses Cuadra, an American actor known for the series Rocket Power.
- Popularity: Ulysses has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1880, peaked at 426th in 1923 and stood at 1,201st in 2025.
Umar
Umar means prospering, thriving and flourishing, from the Arabic umr, meaning lifetime, and amara, to live long. Omar is the same name in the spelling English speakers expect, so Umar keeps the sound while shifting the look. A Libyan prime minister and an Indonesian vice-president have carried it.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Prospering
- Pronunciation: UW-Maar
- Variations: Omar, Omer
- Namesakes: Umar Mustafa Al-Muntassar, the prime minister of Libya from 1987 to 1990. Umar Wirahadikusumah, the 4th vice-president of Indonesia from 1983 to 1988.
- Popularity: Umar has been in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1951 and reached its best rank on record in 2025 at 1,164th.
Umberto
Umberto is the Italian form of the German Humbert, and it reads as a renowned warrior. The parts are the Old German han, meaning “warrior,” and berhtl, meaning bright; Umberto Eco put it on the spine of one of the most widely read novels of the last century, which is a useful thing for a name to have.
- Origin: Italian
- Meaning: Famous
- Pronunciation: Uwm-BEHRT-oh
- Variations: Uberto
- Namesakes: Umberto Eco, an Italian writer known for the 1980 novel The Name of the Rose. Umberto Panerai, an Italian water polo player and silver medalist at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Umberto entered U.S. Social Security Administration data in 1911, peaked at 1,215th in 1915 and last appeared at 13,927th in 2021. Italy still uses it heavily, ranking it 109th in 2014.
Umbriel
Umbriel was invented, not inherited. Alexander Pope named a melancholy sprite Umbriel in his 1712 poem The Rape of the Lock, probably from the Latin umbra, meaning shadow. Astronomers later borrowed it for a moon of Uranus in the poet’s honor, so the name now belongs to literature and the solar system at once.
- Origin: Latin, Fictional
- Meaning: Shadow
- Pronunciation: UHM-Bree-ehl
- Popularity: Umbriel is extremely rare worldwide, with just six known occurrences in 2014, primarily in Brazil.
Umid
Umid means hope in Uzbek, taken from the Persian omid, and it carries expectation, wish and trust alongside. Uzbekistan uses it heavily and almost nowhere else does, which is what keeps it feeling like a find, and Umit is the Turkish spelling of the same idea, one letter away.
- Origin: Uzbek
- Meaning: Hope
- Pronunciation: UW-Mihd
- Variations: Umit
- Namesakes: Umid Irgashev, an Uzbek actor known for Oqpadar (2012). Umid Isoqov, an Uzbek footballer for Neftchi Farg’ona.
- Popularity: Umid is rare worldwide and mostly used in Uzbekistan, where it ranked 21st in 2014.
Umran
Umran means prosperity and describes a place well populated, which is an unusual thing for a personal name to do. It sits near other Arabic-based boys’ names beginning with U, Umar among them. A Turkish magazine founded in 1991 shares the name, as do a university president and an international cricketer.
- Origin: Turkish
- Meaning: Exalted nation
- Pronunciation: UWM-raan
- Namesakes: Umran İnan, the Turkish president of Koç University from 2009 to 2021. Umran Malik, an Indian cricketer for the Indian national cricket team.
- Popularity: Umran is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Indonesia.
Umut
Umut means hope in Turkish and wonder in Kurdish, two readings that sit together comfortably. Turkey treats it as unisex while giving it more often to boys, and chess champions and television directors carry it, giving it a public life beyond the dictionary.
- Origin: Turkish
- Meaning: Hope
- Pronunciation: UW-Muht
- Variations: Umit, Umitt, Umutt
- Namesakes: Umut Atakişi, a Turkish chess player and three-time Turkish Chess Champion. Umut Aral, a Turkish director known for the series The Protector.
- Popularity: Umut has appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1999 and reached its best American showing in 2024 at 8,936th. In Turkey it is common, and it ranked 200th in Northern Cyprus in 2014.
Unaduti
Unaduti is Cherokee, built from unddena, meaning wooly, and duti, meaning head, which together describe a bushy head of hair. The name points to Dennis W. Bushyhead, a Cherokee chief whose English surname says the same thing. It has never registered on a popularity chart anywhere, so a boy given this name would almost certainly be the only one.
- Origin: Native American, Cherokee
- Meaning: Wooly head
- Pronunciation: Uw-naa-DUW-tiy
Unathi
Unathi began as a Xhosa sentence rather than a word, built from the prefix u-, for he or she, and nathi, meaning with us. South African families have since read it as God is with us, and that religious sense travels with the name into Zimbabwe. It is given to boys and girls, and it is common enough in South Africa that nobody there treats it as unusual.
- Origin: South African, Xhosa
- Meaning: God is with us
- Pronunciation: Uw-NAE-Thiy
- Variations: Unathee, Unathey, Unathie, Unathy
- Popularity: Unathi is rare worldwide and mostly used in South Africa, ranking 573rd in 2014.
Undine
Undine belongs to European water myth, the elemental spirits of lakes and rivers that later authors turned into sea nymphs. The Latin unda, meaning wave, sits underneath, and the Swiss writer Paracelsus turned the idea into a name in print; Ondine is the same name with a French accent on it.
- Origin: Latin, Fictional
- Meaning: Of the waves
- Pronunciation: UHN-Diyn
- Variations: Ondine
- Popularity: Undine appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration data from 1912, did best at 3,362nd in 1924 and was last recorded at 4,167th in 1935.
Unika
Unika comes from the Ngoni people of southern Africa, where it means shine and glitter. English ears hear the Latin unicus behind it instead, which is a happy accident rather than a shared root. Two meanings, one for light and one for singularity, and neither needs explaining twice.
- Origin: African, Ngoni
- Meaning: Shining
- Pronunciation: Uw-NIY-kaa
- Variations: Unikah
- Popularity: Unika appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration data from 1974, did best at 5,551st in 1978 and was last recorded at 8,735th in 1995.
Unique
Unique goes back to the Latin unicus, from ūnus, meaning one, and it says out loud what most names only imply. It works particularly well as a middle name, where a bold word can sit without carrying every introduction, and American parents have used it for boys and girls, though it has been sliding for a while now.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Only one
- Pronunciation: Yuw-NIYK
- Variations: Unik
- Namesakes: Unique Salonga (known as Unique), a Filipino singer-songwriter and member of the group IV of Spades.
- Popularity: Unique has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1972, peaked at 790th in 1996 and sat at 2,456th in 2025. Measuring the last 10 years of births against the 10 before them, it is down about 43 percent, the steepest fall among the U names here.
Uno
Scandinavia traces it to the Old Norse Une, and Latin speakers hear unus, meaning one. Japanese reads the same two syllables as roof and field, an unrelated coincidence. Finnish parliamentarians and Swedish Olympic hockey players have worn it. The card game is the one obstacle, and most families decide they can live with it.
- Origin: Latin, Scandinavian
- Meaning: One
- Pronunciation: UW-Nouw
- Variations: Unno
- Namesakes: Uno Hildén, a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1936 to 1945. Uno Öhrlund, a Swedish ice hockey player and silver medalist at the 1964 Winter Olympics.
- Popularity: Uno appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records from 1908, did best at 2,057th in 1915 and was last recorded at 3,796th in 1923. Sweden keeps it in use, and Estonia ranked it 357th in 2014.
Unwin
Unwin descends from the Old English Hūnwine, which reads as a bear cub’s friend. A competing reading takes unwine at face value, meaning the opposite of a friend, so the name argues with itself. It is also counted as a variation of the Welsh Hennion. An English folk drummer is the best-documented bearer, which suits a name this quiet.
- Origin: English, Welsh
- Meaning: Bear cub friend
- Pronunciation: AON-Wihn
- Variations: Unwinn, Unwinne, Unwyne, Unwynn
- Namesakes: Unwin Brown, an English drummer and member of the folk band Trees.
- Popularity: Unwin is extremely rare worldwide, with 21 known occurrences in 2014, primarily in Papua New Guinea.
Uolevi
Uolevi is the Finnish descendant of the Old Norse Ólafr, and the meanings piled onto that root run from to shine to elf to the legacy of ancestors. Finnish tradition holds it to be the original form of the name carried by St. Olaf, king of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Finland has since given it to weightlifters and oil-company directors, so it has worked in every era it has been asked to.
- Origin: Finnish, Norse
- Meaning: Descendent, ancestor
- Pronunciation: UW-aa-Leh-viy
- Variations: Uolevee, Uolevey, Uolevie, Uolevy
- Namesakes: Uolevi Kahelin, a Finnish weightlifter who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Uolevi Raade, a Finnish industrialist and managing director of the Neste oil company.
- Popularity: Uolevi is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Finland, where it ranked 827th in 2014.
Upton
Upton is English geography turned into a name: Upperton, once Upper Ton, the settlement on the higher ground. The parts are upp, meaning upper, and tūn, meaning farmstead. Upton Sinclair won a Pulitzer under it, which gives the name a literary weight most place-names never earn.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Upper settlement
- Pronunciation: UHP-Tahn
- Variations: Uptan, Upten, Uptun
- Namesakes: Upton Sinclair, an American writer awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943. Upton Bell, an American football commentator for Sports Channel New England.
- Popularity: Upton has been in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1910, peaked at 1,966th in 1914 and last appeared at 14,179th in 2022.
Upwood
Upwood means the upland forest, and it has spent most of its life as a surname rather than a first name. The likeliest source is Upward Village in Huntingdonshire, England, and choosing it means choosing a name with almost no personal history attached, which some parents count as a feature.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: From the upper forest
- Pronunciation: UHP-Wuhd
Ural
Ural attached itself to people from the country around the Ural Mountains in the 16th and 17th centuries, then stayed. The Turkish aral, meaning island, sits behind it, which is a strange root for a mountain range to have. Government ministers in Belarus and Russian footballers have carried it since.
- Origin: Uzbek, Turkish
- Meaning: From the Ural mountains
- Pronunciation: YUHR-Ahl
- Variations: Urale, Urall, Uralle
- Namesakes: Ural Latypov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus from 1988 to 2000. Ural Amirov, Russian footballer for FC Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk.
- Popularity: Ural has appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1896, peaked at 1,744th in 1927 and was last recorded at 5,396th in 1970.
Uranus
Uranus is the Greek god of the sky before it is a planet, and in Greek mythology he fathers Saturn and stands as grandfather to Jupiter. That is an impressive family tree for three syllables, though the playground problem is obvious and permanent, which is why it never took hold.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Heavenly
- Pronunciation: Yuh-REY-nahs
- Variations: Uranas, Uraynas, Uraynus
- Popularity: Uranus reached U.S. Social Security Administration data exactly once, at 8,653rd in 1969.
Urbain
Urbain is the French form of Urban, from the Latin urbanus, and it simply means someone of the city. Eight popes used the Latin version, which gave the name its long institutional life. A French chef who created Veal Orloff and a Belgian footballer are the modern bearers on record.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: City dweller
- Pronunciation: Uhr-BAEN
- Variations: Urban
- Namesakes: Urbain Dubois, a French chef and the creator of Veal Orloff. Urbain Braems, a Belgian footballer for K.S.V. Sottegem.
- Popularity: Urbain appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records in 1914, did best at 2,894th that same year and was last recorded at 3,677th in 1928. It is used more widely in the DR Congo, and the Central African Republic ranked it 180th in 2014.
Urban
Urban comes straight from the Latin urbanus, given to someone of the town, from urbs. Slovenia has made it genuinely popular, helped along by surnames such as Urbančič that share the root. A Danish film director and an English rock musician have both carried it, so it is not confined to one corner of Europe. Of everything gathered here, this is the name with the most convincing comeback story.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: From the city
- Pronunciation: UHR-Bahn
- Variations: Urbane, Urbayn, Urbayne
- Namesakes: Urban Gad, a Danish director known for Hannele’s Journey to Heaven (1922). Urban Blitz, an English rock musician with the band Doctors of Madness.
- Popularity: Urban has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1880, peaked at 611th in 1916 and stood at 5,374th in 2025. American use bottomed out in 1965 and has climbed back to about 3.7 times that low, the biggest revival among the U names here.
Urgell
Urgell is a county in Ponent, Catalonia, before it is a personal name. The Latin urgellum is the recorded form, with the Iberian uŕki and Basque ur nearby; Spain gives it to boys and girls, and 2014 counts found only 43 people carrying it worldwide, nearly all of them Spanish.
- Origin: Catalan, Spanish
- Meaning: Catalan place name
- Pronunciation: UHR-Jhehl
- Popularity: Urgell is extremely rare worldwide, with 43 known occurrences in 2014, mostly in Spain.
Uri
Uri means my light in Hebrew, and my flame comes with it. It serves as the everyday short form of both Uriah and Uriel, which makes it the low-commitment way into that family. A mayor of Jerusalem and an Israeli Olympic discus thrower have carried it. Yuri is the spelling most English speakers reach for, so expect to correct that one.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: My light
- Pronunciation: YUW-Riy
- Variations: Yuri
- Namesakes: Uri Lupolianski, the mayor of Jerusalem from 2003 to 2008. Uri Gallin, an Israeli discus thrower who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Uri has appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1913, did best at 2,099th in 1979 and held 2,984th in 2025.
Uriah
Uriah comes from the Hebrew Uriyah, made of ur, meaning flame, and yah, for God, so the whole reads as my light is Yahweh. The Old Testament gives it to a Hittite warrior in King David’s army, and a rock bassist and a UFC fighter have carried it since. It is one of only two U names for boys currently inside the U.S. top 1,000.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Flame of God
- Pronunciation: Yuw-RAEY-ah
- Variations: Uria
- Namesakes: Uriah Duffy, an American bassist for the rock band Whitesnake. Uriah Hall, an American mixed martial artist for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
- Popularity: Uriah has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1880, did best at 505th in 2014 and stood at 650th in 2025.
Uriel
Uriel and Uriah share a root and a meaning, the flame or light of God, and the difference is the ending: el for God rather than yah. Uriel is one of the seven archangels named in biblical tradition, which has kept the name in steady religious use. Mexican footballers and Israeli actors carry it now, and it is the highest-ranked U name for American boys.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Fire of God
- Pronunciation: YUHR-iy-Ehl
- Variations: Uriell, Urielle, Uryel, Uryell, Uryelle
- Namesakes: Uriel Antuna, a Mexican footballer for the Mexico national team. Uriel Emil, an Israeli actor known for the series Casualty (2019 to 2021).
- Popularity: Uriel has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1913, peaked at 386th in 2008 and ranked 446th in 2025, the highest-ranked boy name beginning with U.
Urien
Urien is best known as a medieval Welsh name built on Urbgen, from the Celtic rbo-, meaning heir, and the suffix gen, meaning born of. The 6th-century Urien was king of Rheged, and Arthurian stories pull him in whenever they need an older ruler; English origins are claimed for it too, though the Welsh line is the one with a king attached.
- Origin: Welsh
- Meaning: Of privileged birth
- Pronunciation: YUW-riy-Ahn
- Variations: Urienn, Urienne, Uryenn, Uryenne
- Popularity: Urien is extremely rare worldwide, with 89 known occurrences in 2014, mainly in Uganda.
Urizen
Urizen came out of William Blake’s Book of Urizen, where the character stands for reason and law, the part of the mind that draws boundaries. The name is read either as your reason or as a play on a Greek word meaning to limit. Blake invented plenty of names; this is the one that sounds like it could belong to a person.
- Origin: Fictional
- Meaning: Your reason
- Pronunciation: YUW-rih-Zehn
- Popularity: Urizen is extremely rare worldwide, with just four known occurrences in 2014 in Brazil, Italy, Mexico, and Portugal.
Urmas
Urmas comes from the Estonian urm, which covers both frost and the catkin that hangs from a willow or hazel in early spring. The Finnish writer Johannes Linnankoski put it into print in his 1908 play Kirot, and Estonia adopted it wholesale; Urmo makes a softer everyday version for a small boy.
- Origin: Estonian, Fictional
- Meaning: Frost
- Pronunciation: UHR-maas
- Variations: Urmo, Urmet
- Namesakes: Urmas Ott, an Estonian TV journalist and host of the series Television Acquaintance in 1986. Urmas Välbe, an Estonian cross-country skier who competed at the 1994 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Urmas is rare worldwide and primarily used in Estonia, ranking 32nd in 2014.
Uroš
Uroš joins the Hungarian úr, meaning lord, to the suffix -oš that Slavic languages use freely. Uroš I, a 12th-century Serbian grand prince, is the first bearer of note, and Serbian basketball and Slovenian dance music have supplied more recently. The caron over the S turns it into a sh sound, which is the detail English speakers miss.
- Origin: Slavic, Hungarian
- Meaning: Little lord
- Pronunciation: YUW-rowz
- Namesakes: Uroš Umek, a Slovenian dance music producer who won Best Techno Artist at the 2010 Beatport Music Awards. Uroš Tripković, a Serbian basketball player for the Serbian national basketball team.
- Popularity: Uroš is very rare worldwide, mostly used in Serbia, and ranked 865th in Slovenia in 2014.
Urs
Urs rests on the Latin Ursus and means simply bear. It belongs to German-speaking Switzerland, where the popularity of Saint Ursus kept it in constant use; three letters, one syllable, no possible nickname, which is either the appeal or the objection.
- Origin: German, Latin
- Meaning: Bear
- Pronunciation: UHRZ
- Namesakes: Urs Freuler, a Swiss cyclist named 1983 Swiss Sports Personality of the Year. Urs Egger, a Swiss journalist for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper from 1974 to 1997.
- Popularity: Urs is rare worldwide and mainly used in Switzerland, where it ranked 13th in 2014.
Ursinus
Ursinus is the formal Latin cousin of Urs, from the same ursus, and it means bear-like rather than bear. It seeded other bear names, the Italian Urso among them. Latin endings like this one read as scholarly, which suits a name more often met on a college building than a birth certificate.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Bear
- Pronunciation: UHR-siy-Noos
- Popularity: Ursinus is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Indonesia.
Ury
Ury is the least common way to spell a sound shared by Uri and Yuri. France treats it as a form of Oury, itself a pet form of Ulrich, and English records carry Urey along the same line. Mexico has taken to it, which is where most bearers are found today. A Romanian playwright used it as a pen name in the 1920s.
- Origin: Hebrew, Russian
- Meaning: Shining
- Pronunciation: YUW-Riy
- Variations: Uri, Yury, Yuri
- Namesakes: Ury Benador (pen name of Simon Grinberg), a Romanian playwright awarded the 1924 Romanian Dramatic and Music Critics’ Association Prize.
- Popularity: Ury is rare worldwide and mostly used in Mexico.
Usain
Usain is a variation of the Arabic Hussein, and the meanings stay put: handsome, good-mannered, virtuous. One sprinter has owned this name globally since 2008, and there is no getting around that association, so if you want a name that arrives with a built-in expectation of speed, this is it.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Beautiful, good
- Pronunciation: Uw-SEYN
- Variations: Husain
- Namesakes: Usain Bolt, a Jamaican sprinter and gold medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
- Popularity: Usain is very rare worldwide and mainly used in India.
Ush
Ush means dawn and early morning in Sanskrit, and English speakers may also meet it as a clipped form of Usher. History gives it a third life: Ush ruled the Sumerian city-state of Umma around 2450 BCE. There is even an Ush Island off the northern coast of Sakhalin in eastern Russia. One syllable, three continents.
- Origin: Indian, English
- Meaning: Daybreak
- Pronunciation: UHSH
- Variations: Usher
- Popularity: Ush is very rare worldwide and primarily used in India.
Usher
Usher is an occupational name before anything else, the doorkeeper, from the Latin ustiarius and ostium, meaning door. Yiddish speakers arrived at the same spelling from a different direction, as a form of the Hebrew Asher, meaning happy and blessed. One R&B singer has carried it into every household in America, and the name is doing better now than at any point in its recorded history.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Blessed
- Pronunciation: UHSH-ehr
- Variations: Ushar, Ushur, Ussher, Usshir
- Namesakes: Usher Raymond IV, an American singer known for the album Confessions (2004).
- Popularity: Usher has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1914 and reached its best rank on record in 2025 at 1,974th.
Ushi
Ushi carries a different meaning in every language that uses it. Chinese reads it as strong as an ox, German treats it as a short form of Ursula by way of Uschi, and Hindi gives it to girls with the sense of a wish or desire; Ecuador is where the name shows up most, which nobody would predict from that list of origins.
- Origin: Chinese, German
- Meaning: The ox
- Pronunciation: UW-Shiy
- Variations: Ushee, Ushey, Ushie, Ushy
- Popularity: Ushi is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Ecuador, ranking 965th in 2014.
Usko
Usko is a Finnish boy’s name meaning faith, or a person with plenty of it. Finnish composers and screenwriters have carried it through the last century. Outside Finland it is close to unheard of, and two crisp syllables make it easier for an English speaker than most Finnish names.
- Origin: Finnish
- Meaning: Faith
- Pronunciation: UWSK-oh
- Variations: Uscco, Uscko, Uskko
- Namesakes: Usko Meriläinen, a Finnish composer who conducted the Finnish Opera Choir from 1954 to 1956. Usko Kemppi, a Finnish screenwriter known for “Linnaisten vihreä kamari” (1945).
- Popularity: Usko is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Finland, where it ranked 769th in 2014.
Usoa
Usoa comes from the Basque uxue, meaning pigeon or dove, and the Basque town of Ujué stands behind it. Spain is where it is used, and an African form spelled Usoah exists alongside; as an acronym it also belongs to the Underwater Society of America, which is the sort of thing you find out later.
- Origin: Spanish, African
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: Uw-SOW-ah
- Variations: Usoah
- Popularity: Usoa is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Spain.
Usul
Usul has two lives that could hardly be further apart. In Arabic it points to the fundamental principles of Islam, and in science fiction it is the Fremen name given to Paul Atreides in Dune, glossed as the strength at the base of a pillar. Both readings land on something foundational, which is a rare agreement between scripture and space opera.
- Origin: Arabic, Fictional
- Meaning: Fundamental principles
- Pronunciation: Uw-SUWL
- Variations: Usuli
- Popularity: Usul is very rare worldwide and mainly used in Indonesia.
Utah
Utah is among the coolest male names here with Native American roots, taken from the Ute people and passed on to the state that bears their name. The meaning behind it is people of the mountain, and American parents use it the way they use Dakota or Montana, given to boys and girls both.
- Origin: Native American, Ute
- Meaning: People of the mountain
- Pronunciation: YOO-Tah
- Variations: Yutah
- Popularity: Utah has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1918, peaked at 1,760th in 1921 and still appeared in 2025 at 8,857th.
Uther
Uther comes from the Welsh uthr, meaning wonderful and astonishing. Arthurian legend then handed it to Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, and the association pulled the meaning toward something closer to terrible. A name that can mean marvelous and cruel depending on who is telling the story has more range than most.
- Origin: Welsh, Fictional
- Meaning: Marvelous
- Pronunciation: UW-Dher
- Variations: Uthar, Uthr, Uthyr
- Namesakes: Uther Moukimou, a Congolese basketball player with the 2009 AfroBasket squad.
- Popularity: Uther is extremely rare worldwide, with 75 known occurrences in 2014, mostly in the U.S.
Uthman
Uthman gathers several meanings in Arabic, among them wise, most powerful and, oddly, a dragon cub. Islamic history knows Uthman as a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, and the sixth ruler of Tunisia’s Husainid dynasty, Uthman ibn Ali, carried the name too; Othman is simply the same name with a softer opening.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Wise
- Pronunciation: UWTH-Maen
- Variations: Othman
- Namesakes: Uthman ibn Ali, the sixth leader of the Husainid Dynasty and ruler of Tunisia in 1814.
- Popularity: Uthman has been in U.S. Social Security Administration records since 1974 and reached its best rank on record in 2025 at 4,240th. Comparing the last 10 years of births with the 10 before them, it is up about 151 percent, the largest gain among the U names on this list.
Utku
Utku derives from utkuyu, meaning victory and triumph, and Turkish gives it to boys far more often than to girls. Turkish footballers and electronic music producers carry it now. A two-syllable name that means winning is not subtle, but it is memorable.
- Origin: Turkish
- Meaning: Victory
- Pronunciation: Uwt-KOO
- Namesakes: Utku Şen, a German footballer for Vanspor. Utku Dalmaz, a Turkish electronic music producer who founded Sound Mass Records.
- Popularity: Utku is rare worldwide and primarily used in Turkey, ranking 1,070th in 2014.
Utopia
Utopia means no place in Greek, which is the joke Thomas More was making when he used it as a book title in 1516. Only later did the word come to mean paradise, and naming a child after a place that by definition does not exist is a bold move that has gone to boys and girls alike.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Imagined place of perfection
- Pronunciation: Yuw-TOW-piy-Ah
- Variations: Utopea, Utopeah, Utopiah
- Popularity: Utopia appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records from 1976, did best at 7,621st in 1978 and was last recorded at 9,268th in 1985.
Utsidihi
Utsidihi is among the most mysterious guy names gathered here, and it functions more as a title than as a given name. In Cherokee it means man killer, and it points to Ostenaco, the 18th-century Cherokee leader whose own name carried the same sense. No popularity figures exist for it anywhere.
- Origin: Native American, Cherokee
- Meaning: Mankiller
- Pronunciation: Ut-SIH-deh-Haey
Uttar
As a Hindi name, Uttar means the son of a king, specifically the son of King Virata. The word also marks direction and place across India, and Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal is one of five locations carrying it; an Indian film director is the best-known bearer.
- Origin: Indian, Hindi
- Meaning: Son of a king
- Pronunciation: Uw-TAAR
- Namesakes: Uttar Kumar, an Indian director known for Dhakar Chhora (2004).
- Popularity: Uttar is rare worldwide, mainly used in India, and ranked 722nd in Nepal in 2014.
Uttuni
Uttuni is the Sicilian reworking of the Italian Ottorino and Ottone, both of which descend from the German Otto and its sense of wealth. It is also an Italian male name for arsenical brass, an alloy made with a small amount of arsenic. Regional Italian names like this one rarely leave the island, which is exactly why it is here.
- Origin: Sicilian, Italian
- Meaning: Owner
- Pronunciation: Uw-TOON-ee
- Variations: Ottone
Utu
Utu reaches back to the Sumerian ud, meaning sun, and to the sun god also known as Shamash, who judged the living and had business in the underworld besides. Finnish uses the same three letters for a fine mist, which is about as far from a sun god as a meaning can travel.
- Origin: Sumerian
- Meaning: Sun
- Pronunciation: UW-tuw
- Popularity: Utu is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Indonesia.
Utz
Utz is the German short form of Ulric, and it keeps the sense of prosperity and power the longer name carries. Yiddish uses the same word for teasing someone, which gives it a wink the German version lacks. Austrian bobsledders and artists have carried it, and in America it is best known as a potato chip company.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Rich, noble heritage
- Pronunciation: UWTZ
- Namesakes: Utz Chwalla, an Austrian bobsledder who competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Utz Rothe, an Austrian artist known for his self-described Depressionismos style.
- Popularity: Utz is rare worldwide and mostly used in Germany, where it’s slightly uncommon in 2014.
Uvedale
Uvedale is a surname from Yewdale in Lancashire, built from the Old English word for the yew tree and the Old Norse dalr, meaning valley. Two English members of Parliament carried it, one in the 18th century and one in the 20th. As of 2014 only three people worldwide were recorded with it, spread across England, South Africa and the U.S. It is a country estate of a name.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Place of yew trees
- Pronunciation: UWV-dale
- Variations: Uvedall, Uvedail
- Namesakes: Uvedale Price, an English member of the House of Commons from 1713 to 1734. Uvedale Corbett, an English member of Parliament from 1945 to 1951.
- Popularity: Uvedale is extremely rare worldwide, with just three known occurrences in 2014, in England, South Africa, and the U.S.
Uxío
Uxío is the Spanish take on the Greek Eugénios, meaning well-born, arriving by a longer road than most. Galician writers and footballers have carried it, and it remains firmly regional, ultimately a very Spanish reworking of an already informal version of Eugene.
- Origin: Spanish, Greek
- Meaning: Well-born
- Pronunciation: UW-siy-Oh
- Variations: Uxo, Uxyo
- Namesakes: Uxío Novoneyra, a Spanish-Galician writer for the Association of Writers in the Galician Language. Uxío Marcos, a Spanish footballer for CCD Cerceda.
- Popularity: Uxío is extremely rare worldwide, with just eight known occurrences in 2014, mainly in Spain.
Uz
Uz means counsel or advice in Hebrew, and the Bible uses it as a place as well as a person: the land where Job lived, and the father of Aram, grandson of Shem. Two letters carrying a whole biblical geography is unusual. Sudan is where the name is most used today.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Counsel, words
- Pronunciation: UWS
- Popularity: Uz is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Sudan, where it ranked 1,295th in 2014.
Uzair
Uzair is the Arabic form of the Hebrew Ezra, and both land on helper and strength. Islamic tradition names Uzair as a prophet, which is why the name is widespread across Muslim communities, and a South African rugby international and a Pakistani singer-songwriter carry it now.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Helper
- Pronunciation: Uw-ZAER
- Variations: Uzayr
- Namesakes: Uzair Cassiem, a South African rugby union player for Bayonne. Uzair Jaswal, a Pakistani singer-songwriter and the youngest performer of Coke Studio Pakistan.
- Popularity: Uzair has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1990, did best at 3,289th in 2021 and held 3,375th in 2025.
Uzay
Uzay comes from the Turkish uzamak, meaning to extend or stretch, and the noun it produced means space, specifically the infinite kind. That is a big idea for two syllables. A Turkish composer is the bearer on record.
- Origin: Turkish
- Meaning: Space
- Pronunciation: Uw-ZAEY
- Namesakes: Uzay Hepari, a Turkish composer who performed on the Akrep Nalan album Dağ Çiçeği (Flower of the Mountain).
- Popularity: Uzay entered U.S. Social Security Administration data in 2014, did best at 7,690th in 2023 and ranked 13,746th in 2025, roughly one birth in 333,333 and the rarest charted name on this list.
Uzi
Uzi means power in Hebrew, and the fuller phrase behind it reads as God is my strength. It works as the short form of Uziel, Uzziah and Uzzah. The submachine gun designed by Uziel Gal in the late 1940s took his nickname, and that association is permanent. A Congolese-French rapper and an Israeli member of the Knesset carry the name today.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Power
- Pronunciation: UW-Ziy
- Variations: Uzzi
- Namesakes: Uzi, a Congolese-French rapper known for the album Cœur abîmé (2021). Uzi Landau, an Israeli member of the Knesset from 1984 to 2006.
- Popularity: Uzi is very rare worldwide and primarily used in Israel, ranking 590th in 2014.
Uzochi
Uzochi is Igbo, made of uzo, meaning road or way, and chi, for God, so the whole reads as God’s way. Nigerian families use it as a statement of faith rather than a description. It sits with a whole group of religious Nigerian names on this list, and the CH is pronounced as in church.
- Origin: Nigerian, Igbo
- Meaning: God’s way
- Pronunciation: Uw-ZOH-chee
- Popularity: Uzochi is very rare worldwide and mostly used in Nigeria.
Uzoma
Uzoma takes the same Igbo uzo, meaning way, and adds oma, meaning lovely, for a good path in life. A second reading applies it to a child born during a journey, which makes it a name a family earns rather than chooses in advance. Nigerian and American footballers have both carried it, and it is given to boys and girls.
- Origin: Nigerian, Igbo
- Meaning: Beautiful way
- Pronunciation: Uw-ZOH-maa
- Variations: Uzomah, Uzomma, Uzommah
- Namesakes: Uzama Douglas, a Nigerian footballer for the Nigerian U-17 team. Uzoma Nwachukwu, an American football player for the Dallas Cowboys.
- Popularity: Uzoma appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records from 1981, peaked at 4,655th in 1997 and was last recorded at 10,528th in 2020.
Uzziel
Uzziel is the full form that Uzi is cut from, originally Uzzîʾēl, a biblical boy’s name reading as God is my strength. It also survives as a Jewish surname recorded in 15th-century Spain. Rwanda’s finance minister carries it now, and Mexico uses it more than most countries do.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: God is my strength
- Pronunciation: Uw-ziy-EHL
- Variations: Uziel
- Namesakes: Uzziel Ndagijimana, the Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning since 2018.
- Popularity: Uzziel has been in U.S. Social Security Administration data since 1987, did best at 3,002nd in 2008 and held 3,745th in 2025.
