Roy

See also: roy

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹoɪ̯/, [ˈɹʷoɪ̯]; /ˈɹɔɪ̯/, [ˈɹʷɔɪ̯]

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪ
• Hyphenation: Roy
• Homophones: Roi, roy

Proper noun

Roy (countable and uncountable, plural Roys)

1. (countable) A male given name from Scottish Gaelic.
   • 2003, Minette Walters, Disordered Minds, Macmillan., →ISBN, page 173:

     - - - The real pity is that the only name William Burton remembers is Roy ...it was a popular name in the fifties and sixties so there were probably quite a few of them."
     "Not that popular," said George. "Surely it's Roy Trent?"
     "Roy Rogers...Roy Orbison... Roy of the Rovers...Roy Castle..."
     "At least one of those was a comic-book character," said Andrew.
     "So? Bill Clinton and David Beckham named their children after places. All I'm saying is we can't assume Roy Trent from Roy."

   • 2024 February 7, Edward-Isaac Dovere, “Harris set to host Democratic governors this weekend to discuss 2024 campaign”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 December 2025:

     On the invitation list: Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Tim Walz of Minnesota, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Wes Moore of Maryland and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.

2. (countable) A surname.
   1. A surname from Anglo-Norman.
   2. A surname from Old French.
   3. A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
   4. A surname from Bengali.
3. A number of places in the United States:
   1. An unincorporated community in Power County, Idaho.
   2. An unincorporated community in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
   3. An unincorporated community in Douglas County, Missouri.
   4. A census-designated place in Fergus County, Montana.
   5. A village in Harding County, New Mexico.
   6. An unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon.
   7. A city in Weber County, Utah.
   8. A minor city in Pierce County, Washington.
4. A ghost town on the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada.
5. A river and glen (see Glen Roy) in Highland council area, Scotland.

Derived terms

• Roybridge
• Roy Bridge

Descendants

• → French: Roy
• → Norwegian: Roy
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: Roy
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: Roy
• → Swedish: Roy

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Roy is the 640^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 53,159 individuals. Roy is most common among White (75.20%) individuals.

Anagrams

• RYO, ryo, ryō, yor, -ory

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French roy (literally “king, ruler”). Doublet of roi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁwa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: roi, rois, roua, rouas, rouât

Proper noun

Roy m or f

1. a surname

Descendants

• English: Roy

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English Roy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁɔj/

Proper noun

Roy m

1. (Canada) a male given name from English
2. (Canada) a surname from English
3. (Canada) a surname from French

Norwegian

Etymology

Borrowed from English Roy in the 19th century.

Proper noun

Roy

1. a male given name from English

Old Leonese

Etymology

From Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌹𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (*hrōþireiks).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈroi̯/

Proper noun

Roy m

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Rodrick
   • 1241, Document from San Pedro de Eslonza:

     Pedro Rodriguez fiyo de Roy de Vega.

     Pedro Rodriguez son of Roy de Vega.

   • 1225, Fuero enmendado del concejo de Sahagún otorgado por Alfonso X en romance, con acuerdo del abad y convento del monasterio, en cuya cláusula final se concede como supletorio el fuero del libro real:

     Roy Suarez Merino mayor en Gallicia

     Roy Suarez Merino mayor in Galicia

Derived terms

• Roiz

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Roy in the 19th century.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Roy c (genitive Roys)

1. a male given name from English