Boy names that start with U
Not one boy name beginning with U appears in the current U.S. top 100, and English never built many to begin with: almost no native name-stem starts with that vowel. The sixteen here came from somewhere else — Homeric Ulysses, the archangel Uriel, Basque Unai, Finnish Ukko — which is exactly what makes them useful if you want a name nobody in the room will share.
The best-known U names
None of these is common in the United States. These are simply the U names an English speaker is most likely to have met.
- Ulyssesyoo-LISS-eezLatin
The Latin form of Greek Odysseus; the older sense of the name is disputed. Ulysses S. Grant and James Joyce keep it in circulation.
- UrielYOOR-ee-elHebrew
God is my light. One of the archangels named in Jewish tradition, and the most wearable U name of the set.
- Uriahyoo-RY-uhHebrew
Yahweh is my light. The Hittite soldier David wronged; Dickens saddled it with Uriah Heep, and it has been recovering since.
- UrbanUR-bunLatin
Of the city; urbane. Eight popes took the name, and it still works as a plain English word.
- UlrichOOL-rikhGerman
Ruler of the inheritance. A German and Swiss standard for a thousand years; Uli is the short form.
U names from Italy, Spain and the Basque country
- Umbertooom-BEHR-tohItalian
Bright warrior. Two kings of Italy carried it, as did the novelist Umberto Eco.
- UgoOO-goItalian
Mind, heart, spirit. The Italian Hugh, and the shortest name on this page.
- Urbanooor-BAH-noItalian
Of the city, and so city-polished. The Italian and Spanish Urban.
- Ulisesoo-LEE-sesSpanish
The Spanish Odysseus. Unlike its English cousin it is a genuinely live name in Mexico and Central America.
- Unaioo-NYEBasque
Cowherd, the keeper of cattle. One of the Basque names that came back into use with the revival of Basque naming.
U names from Africa, the north and the Americas
- UcheOO-chehIgbo
Mind, thought, will — what a person intends. Used alone and as the head of longer Igbo names.
- Ugochukwuoo-goh-CHOO-kwooIgbo
God's glory, and in the same breath God's eagle: ugo is the eagle, the Igbo emblem of honour.
- UkkoOOK-koFinnish
The sky and thunder god of Finnish myth; also, plainly, old man.
- UrhoOOR-hohFinnish
A hero; a brave one. Urho Kekkonen was president of Finland for a quarter of a century.
- UlfOOLFOld Norse
Wolf. One syllable, no decoration, still in ordinary use across Scandinavia and Germany.
- Ubirajaraoo-bee-rah-ZHAH-rahTupi
Lord of the spear. José de Alencar's 1874 novel of the same name carried it into Brazilian use.