Ulrich (German pronunciation:[ˈʊl.ʁɪç]), is a German given name derived from Old High German Uodalrich, Odalric. It is composed of the elements uodal- meaning "heritage" and -rih meaning "king, ruler". Attested from the 8th century as the name of Alamannic nobility, the name is popularly given from the high medieval period in reference to Saint Ulrich of Augsburg (canonized 993).
Ulrich is also a surname. It is most prevalent in Germany and has the highest density in Switzerland. This last name was found in the United States in the year 1727 when Christof Ulrich landed in Pennsylvania.
[1] Most Americans with the last name were concentrated in Pennsylvania, which was home to many German immigrant communities. Nowadays in the United States, the name is distributed largely in the Pennsylvania-Ohio region [2].
History
Documents record the Old High German name Oadalrich or Uodalrich from the later 8th century in Alamannia.
The related name Adalric (Anglo-Saxon cognate Æthelric) is attested from the 6th century (Athalaric King of the Ostrogoths; Æthelric of Bernicia).
The name of Agilolfing duke Odilo (fl. 709–748) may represent a short form of the name.
Count Udalrich I (fl. 778–814), a son of Gerold of Anglachgau, founded the Alamannic Udalriching dynasty, ancestral to the counts of Bregenz.
The given name occurred frequently in the Alamannic Hunfriding dynasty in the 9th to 10th centuries; examples include Odalric, Count of Barcelona (fl. 850s) and Odalric, Count of Thurgau (fl. 920s).
The name is recorded in an Icelandic form as Óðalríkr only in the later medieval period.
In the Middle High German period the name generally commemorated Saint Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg (c. 890 – 4 July 973), who twice defended Augsburg from attacks by Magyars.
The Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli etymologized his given name as Huldrych (Huldricus, Huldaricus), i.e. "rich in grace".
In the wake of Zwingli, during the 16th century and well into the 18th century, it became a fashion -
especially for Protestant writers - to Latinise the given name Ulrich as Huldricus.
The name was popularly given in 20th-century Switzerland, especially from the 1940s to the 1960s,
peaking at rank 16 in 1947, but dropping below rank 100 in 1972.
In Czechoslovakia, Oldřich was popularly given in the 1940s to 1950s, peaking at rank 18 during 1946–1951.
Variants
The German given name was adopted in Czech and Slovak as Oldřich, Oldrich and in Scandinavian languages as Ulrik, in Slovenian as Urh, in Latvia as Uldis.
Common German hypocoristics are Uli or Ulli (Swiss Ueli) and historically Utz. A Czech/Slovak hypocoristic is Olda, Oldík, Volek and a Polish one Ryczek.
Feminine forms Ulrikke and Ulrika have been recorded from the early modern period. A Czech form is Oldřiška.
People with the given name
Medieval to early modern
Udalrich I, count in Alamannia (fl. 778–814), son of Gerold of Anglachgau
Udalrich II, son of Udalrich I, count in Alamannia (fl. 800/803)
Odalric, Count of Barcelona (fl. 850s)
Ulrich of Augsburg (ca. 890 – 973), bishop and saint
Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia (c. 975 – 1034)
Ulric Manfred II of Turin (b. 1034), Count of Turin and Margrave of Susa
Ulric I of Carniola (d. 1070), the Margrave of Carniola and Carinthia
Ulric II of Carniola (d. 1112), the Margrave of Istria
Ulrich I, Bishop of Passau (c. 1027 – 1121)
Ulrich of Zell (1029–93), abbot and saint
Ulrich I Bishop of Eichstätt (r. 1075–1099)
Ulrich of Bamberg (fl. 1100), priest and chronicler
Ulrich II von Bogen, Bishop of Eichstätt (r. 1112–1125)
Oldřich of Olomouc (d. 1177), duke in Bohemia
Ulrich von Zatzikhoven, late 12th century author of the Arthurian romance Lanzelet
Ulrich II (bishop of Passau) (d. 1221)
Ulrich von Liechtenstein (1200–1275), medieval writer, poet and knight
Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia (ca. 1220 – 1269)
Ulrich II, Count of Württemberg (ca. 1254 – 1279)
Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg (after 1286 – 1392)
Ulrich II von Graben (before 1300 – ca. 1361), Austrian nobleman
Ulrich III, Lord of Hanau (c. 1310 – 1369 or 1370)
Ulrich IV, Count of Württemberg (after 1315 – 1366)
Ulrich von Jungingen (1360–1410), 26th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
Ulrich II, Count of Celje (1406–1456)
Ulrich I, Count of East Frisia (1408–1466)
Ulrich III von Nussdorf, Bishop of Passau (r. 1451–1479)
Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg (1413–1480)
Ulrich II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard (probably before 1428 – 1471)
Ulrich Fugger the Elder (1441–1510), German businessman and member of the Fugger family
Ulrich Rülein von Calw (1465–1523), mayor of Freiberg, Saxony
Ulrich of Hardegg (after 1483–1535), Count of Hardegg
Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1535), leader of the Reformation in Switzerland
Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (1487–1550)
Ulrich von Hutten (1488–1523), German knight, scholar, poet and reformer during the Knights' War
Ulrich Hugwald (1496–1571), Swiss reformer
Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg (1527–1603)
Ulrik of Denmark (1578–1624), administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin
Ulrich, Duke of Pomerania (1589–1622)
Ulrik of Denmark (1611–1633), administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin
Ulrich Grappler von Trappenburg, Bishop of Passau (r. 1646–1658)
Ulrich von Jungingen (1360-1410), 26th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
Modern era
Ulrich, 10th Prince Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (1893–1938), titular pretender
Ulrich Daldrup (born 1947), German scientist and mayor of Aachen
Ulrich Eberl (born 1962), German science and technology journalist
Ulrich Ellis (1904–1981), Australian writer
Ulrich Graf (1878–1950), member of Hitler's inner circle
Ulric Guttinguer (1785–1866), French novelist
Ulrich Herbert (born 1951), German historian
Hans-Ulrich Indermaur (born 1939), Swiss journalist and writer
Ulrich Leyendecker (1946–2018), German composer of contemporary classical music
Ulrich Marida, Central African Republic basketball coach
Ulrich Matthes (born 1959), German actor
Ueli Maurer (b. 1950), Swiss politician
Ulrich Mühe (1953–2007), German actor and director
Ulrich Noethen (born 1959), German actor
Ulrich Salchow (1877–1949), German figure skater and inventor of the salchow jump
Ulrich Schmid-Maybach, philanthropist, real estate developer and entrepreneur
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977), German musician
Ulrich Wilhelm Graf Schwerin von Schwanenfeld (1902–1944), a key conspirator in the failed 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944
Ulrich Steinhilper (1918–2009), World War II Luftwaffe ace credited by some with the concept of word processing
Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (1848–1931), German classical philologist
Ulrich Wild (born 1969), American record producer
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893-1946), more commonly known as Joachim von Ribbentrop, Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany from 1938 until 1945
Ulrich Frédéric Woldemar, Comte de Lowendal (1700–1755), German-born French soldier and statesmen
People with the surname
Benjamin Ulrich (born 1988), German rugby union international
Bror Ludvig Ulrich (1818–1887), Swedish military and colonial governor
Charles Frederic Ulrich (1858–1908), American painter
Christian Ulrich (1836–1909), Austrian architect
D. K. Ulrich (born 1944), American race car driver/owner
Donald Ulrich aka Don Rich (1941–1974) American country music musician
Dutch Ulrich (1899–1929), American baseball player
Edward Oscar Ulrich (1857–1944), American invertebrate paleontologist
Einer Ulrich (1896-1969), Danish tennis player
Eric Ulrich (born 1985), American politician from New York City
Fernando Ulrich (born 1952), Portuguese economist and banking administrator
Henry G. Ulrich III, United States Navy admiral who retired in 2007
Jan Ullrich (born 1973), German race cyclist
Jennifer Ulrich (born 1984), German actress
Joe Ulrich (born 1961), American former soccer player
Lars Ulrich (born 1963), Danish drummer for heavy metal band Metallica
Laurent Ulrich (born 1951), French archbishop of the Catholic Church
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (born 1938), American historian and writer
Lester J. Ulrich (1908-1991), American lawyer and politician
Richard Ulrich (born 1942), German board game designer
Skeet Ulrich (born 1970), American actor
Torben Ulrich (1928–2023), Danish writer and tennis pro
Tracy Ulrich (born 1966), aka Tracii Guns, guitarist and musician
Werner Ulrich (born 1948), Swiss social scientist and practical philosopher
William M. Ulrich (born ca. 1956), American management consultant
Wolf-Christian Ulrich (born 1975), German TV journalist, host and correspondent
Fictional characters
Ulrich, the old sorcerer in the film Dragonslayer (1981)
Ulrich, the protagonist of Robert Musil's 20th century novel The Man Without Qualities
Ulrich Stern, a character on the French animated TV series Code Lyoko
Ulrich von Bek, the hero of The War Hound and the World's Pain and other novels by Michael Moorcock
Ulrich von Gradwitz, a character in Saki's short story "The Interlopers"
Ulrich von Liechtenstein, an alias of Heath Ledger's character in the film A Knight's Tale
Ulrich Nielsen, a character in the German Netflix original series Dark
Walter von Ulrich, one of the main characters in the novels Fall of Giants and Winter of the World by Welsh author Ken Follett
See also
Huldreich (disambiguation)
St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey, Augsburg
St. Ulrich's Priory in the Black Forest
Uli (disambiguation)
Ulric (disambiguation)
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Uldis
References
External links
"Ulrich" (PDF). Ancestry.com. Profile of surname; note: contains errors.