nametree
← Roxybrowse · build a nametreeRoya →

Roy

boy name
Origin
Scottish
Syllables
1
Peak era
1900s/1920s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Roy and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

anglicized form of the Gaelic Ruadh, 'red', once a nickname for red hair; long associated with French roi, 'king'

The story

Roy is often heard as the French word roi, meaning king, but its established name history takes another route. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Ruadh, meaning red, originally a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. The Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy preserves that color word in one of the name's most famous stories. French royal association may add a pleasing echo, but it should not replace the Gaelic root. In American music, Roy Orbison gave the short name an enormous voice, singing heartbreak with a range and drama that seemed larger than his dark glasses and still stage presence. The contrast suits Roy: three quiet letters with vivid worlds behind them. It needs no shortening, works easily across a crowded room, and feels vintage without being elaborate. Roy can suggest red hair, Highland legend, accidental royalty, or a soaring song. Its best surprise is that the kingly meaning people expect is association, while the older name is a flash of color.

More names with stories →

How popular is Roy around the world?

In the United States, 3,171 babies were named Roy between 2020 and 2025. In Puerto Rico, 5 babies were named Roy in 2025, and 136 have carried the name since 1998.

Roy is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, England and Wales, Austria, Ireland, Chile, France, Argentina, Mexico City, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 6,900

In the United States, 3,171 babies were named Roy between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1900s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Roy peaked in the 1900s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Puerto Rico

1 in 3,600

In Puerto Rico, 5 babies were named Roy in 2025, and 136 have carried the name since 1998.

peak 20032025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

South Australia

1 in 6,100 · 2017

In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Roy in 2017.

1944peak 19662017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Canada

1 in 6,200

In Canada, 59 boys named Roy were born in 2024, the 496th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

Scotland

1 in 11,000

In Scotland, 4 boys named Roy were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19752024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

England and Wales

1 in 12,000

In England and Wales, 48 boys named Roy were born in 2025, the 728th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Austria

1 in 15,000

In Austria, 5 boys named Roy were born in 2025, the 720th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Ireland

1 in 18,000

In Ireland, 3 boys named Roy were born in 2025, the 829th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19742025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Chile

1 in 20,000

In Chile, 9 boys were registered as Roy in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19852021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

France

1 in 26,000

In France, about 25 boys named Roy were born in 2025, ranked 1,310th among boys that year.

1920peak 2025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Argentina

1 in 33,000

In Argentina, 20 newborns were given the name Roy in 2024.

peak 20132024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

See the full list for Argentina →

Mexico City City

1 in 39,000

In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Roy in 2022.

peak 20012022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

Spain

1 in 63,000

In Spain, 709 residents are named Roy, ranked 1,799th among men, with a mean age of 37.3 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Brazil

1 in 500,000

At the 2022 census, 309 people in Brazil were named Roy, ranked 18,657th, with a median age of 41.
Among people named Roy living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.

1950speak 1980s2000s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Montevideo City

last on record 2007

Roy is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New South Wales

outside the top 100

Roy is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

peak 19552025

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

New Zealand

last on record 2020

Roy is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19232025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Norway

last on record 2024

Roy is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.

peak 19642025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

See the full list for Norway →

Poland

last on record 2024

Roy is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.

peak 20012025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Roy

People given the name Roy in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Roy

Gordon Wallace Clyde Marvin Henry Monroe

Keep exploring

Short names

The Roy deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Roy truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Roy fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Roy fit YOUR family?

nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.

Add Roy to your family’s tree →
BROWSEAll traditions👶 Baby namesAround the worldAll names🔍 Search a nameName storiesThree-letter namesShort namesVintage revivalsGender-neutralPolishJapaneseCantoneseIrishKoreanIndianMexican American
🌐English ✓EspañolPortuguês
nametree on your phoneDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play