Roy

Boy name

Roy has been given to 411,331 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1947 and currently ranks #525 for boys (2025).

Meaning & origin /ˈɹoɪ̯/

From various sources: * Anglo-Norman roy (“king”) a variant of Old French roi, from Latin rēx, rēgem from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”). Doublet of Rey. * Scottish Gaelic ruadh (“red, red-haired”) from Old Irish rúad, from Proto-Celtic *roudos from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-. * Anglicisation of Bengali রায় (raẏ, surname). Doublet of Rai, rex, and rajah.

Origin: Scottish Gaelic

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

411,331

Peak year

1947 (7,592 babies)

Rank in 2025

#525 for boys

First recorded

1880

10-year trend

▲ +5%

Gender split

1% girls / 99% boys

Famous people named Roy

Roy J. Glauber

American theoretical physicist (1925–2018)

Roy Orbison

American musician (1936 –1988)

Roy Keane

Irish football manager (born 1971)

Roy Lichtenstein

American pop artist (1923–1997)

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Roy.

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290,955 babies since 1883

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