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Although you know the eighteenth President of the United States as Ulysses S. Grant, this was not really his true name. In fact, the story behind his name is quite interesting.

The eighteenth President of the United States was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Although he was born on April 27, nearly six weeks would pass before he would receive a name.

The baby was scrawny, and his parents did not think he had a chance in life; therefore, they waited to name him. Finally, six weeks after his birth, Mr. and Mrs. Grant invited several relatives to help in the naming of the baby. When the relatives arrived, they were asked to write their chosen name on a piece of paper. All of the names were then placed within a hat.

The first slip of paper drawn from the hat had the name Ulysses on it. Mr. Grant did not like the name. He said, “Ulysses! Why we cannot name this child Ulysses. The name Ulysses belongs to a great leader or a hero of men. Look at this child! He is six weeks old and looks as if he were born yesterday. He'll never amount to a hero.”

They drew another name out of the hat. The name on this piece of paper was Hiram. Mr. Grant responded, “Hiram! Yes, I like this name. It is a good Bible name. Yes, His name will be Hiram Grant.” The women disagreed. They liked the name Ulysses and suggested calling him Ulysses Hiram Grant. Mr. Grant disagreed, but to please the women, he said, “The boy's name will be Hiram Ulysses Grant.” Thus, at the age of six weeks, the eighteenth President of the United States received a name.

The name of Hiram Ulysses Grant, however, caused the young boy many sorrows during his early childhood. As you can only imagine, a scrawny boy with the initials H.U.G. faced much teasing. His mother and grandmother did not like the name Hiram so they simply called him Ulysses or “Lyss” for short. The kids at school called him “Huggy” or “Huggable.” Soon they dropped this name and simply called him “Sissy.”

Finally, young Hiram Grant could bear it no more. He decided to drop the name Hiram. He simply signed all his papers with the name Ulysses Grant. His playmates were so accustomed to calling him names that this made matters worse. They began calling him “Useless.” Most everyone said the young, underdeveloped boy would never amount to anything in life. They said he would simply be useless; therefore, they called him “Useless Grant.”

Although Ulysses desired to go to a nearby college, his father proudly secured him an appointment at West Point where Grant's life began to change. When he registered at West Point, he signed his name as Ulysses Hiram Grant. The registrar said, “There must be some mistake. We were told to look for a young man by the name of Ulysses Simpson Grant. We are so sorry for the trouble. We will send the papers back to Washington and correct our mistake.” Ulysses Grant replied, “Simpson is my mother's maiden name. This must be where the confusion came in. The name Ulysses Simpson Grant is just fine with me. Suppose I just change my name right now.” “That would make things much easier,” agreed the registrar. “Would you mind if we just call you Ulysses Simpson Grant?”

To make things easier for both Ulysses and West Point, the name of Ulysses S. Grant was created.

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