Roy

What Roy means

Means “king”

From various sources: Anglo-Norman roy (“king”) a variant of Old French roi, from Latin rēx, rēgem from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Roy” (revision 94543068), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Roy?

US: Steady: #533 in 2015, #525 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1024 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1897, when 999 boys got the name (#19 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,997 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 5,665 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MT (2.39 per 1,000 boys), NH (1.11 per 1,000 boys), NM (0.92 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Roy is #525 in the US and #728 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Roy were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ray319 US · 64 E&W
• Rey262 US · 7 E&W
• Rui49 US · 18 E&W
• Rei35 US · 7 E&W
• Roi34 US · 4 E&W
• Rai29 US · 9 E&W
• Ra14 US
• Roe8 US · 5 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Roy

Boys

• Neil#850Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1954, with 1,959 babies; 288 in 2025
• Donald#690“prince / chief of the world”^*
• Kenneth#294“handsome”^*
• Marvin#699Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1928, with 4,452 babies; 385 in 2025
• Allen#578Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1951, with 5,179 babies; 507 in 2025
• Morgan#559Editor’s note Up from #671 in 2015 to #559 in 2025 in the US

For a sister

• Meredith#469“great lord”^*
• Jennifer#586Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1972, with 63,600 babies; 501 in 2025
• Bridget#724Editor’s note Down from #534 in 2015 to #724 in 2025 in the US
• Megan#887Diminutive of Margaret, meaning “pearl”^*
• Sabrina#321Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1997, with 5,816 babies; 956 in 2025
• Briana#661Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,000 babies; 431 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Roy’s. Rank is US 2025.