Grant

by Ron Chernow

The choices bandied about suggest a literate clan with high expectations for the child. Hannah opted for Albert to honor Thomas Jefferson’s treasury secretary, Albert Gallatin, while her father opted for Hiram as a “handsome” biblical name. Hannah’s stepmother evinced “enthusiastic admiration for the ancient commander, Ulysses,” recalled Jesse Grant, and urged “that the babe should be named Ulysses.”1 Some accounts claim the matter was settled by plucking names from a hat. Whatever the case, the family agreed on Hiram Ulysses Grant, which translated into the unfortunate initials H.U.G. The boy would show a decided preference for Ulysses and gradually discard Hiram, especially when other boys “teased him about his initials.”