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 [ 1 syll. roy, ro-y ] The boy name Roy is pronounced ROY KEY. Roy's language of origin is Irish Gaelic, French, and Celtic, and it is used largely in the English, Dutch, French, German, and Scottish languages. From Irish Gaelic, French, and Celtic roots, its meaning is 'ruddy, red-haired; king' - in this context, Roy is usually used in the English, French, German, and Scottish languages. The first name was originally derived from the Gaelic nickname Ruadh, of the element ruadh ('red'). The name was later adopted by other English speakers, and then associated with the French roi ('king'). The name 'Rob Roy' was borne by the Scottish folk hero and outlaw Robert Roy MacGregor (1671-1734), in reference to his red hair; he was later brought to public attention from Sir Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), thereby promoting the adoption of the name. Variants of Roy include Loe (Hawaiian), Rey (Spanish and English), Roi (French), and Ruadh (Irish). In addition, Roy is a pet form of Leroy (English) in the Dutch and English languages. Roy is also a variant of Conroy (English). See also the related forms, Rowan (English and Scottish), Rowan (English and Irish), and Royston (English). Roy is an all-time favorite. At present it is still fairly popular as a baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was before. At the peak of its usage in 1904, 0.811% of baby boys were given the name Roy. It ranked at #21 then. The baby name has since substantially fallen in popularity, and is of only occasional use in recent years. In 2008, it ranked at #497 with a usage of 0.025%, but it was nonetheless the 2nd most popular after Rowan (English and Irish), out of all boy names in its group. It was used 76% more than Roy in 2008. The name Roy has mostly been a boy name, although it has also been given to girls in the past century. In 1933, the name Roy was given to 102 times as many boys than girls. Baby names that sound like Roy include Roi (French), Rais (Arabic), Ray (English), Rey (Spanish and English), Roar (Scandinavian), Rowe (English), Ruy (Spanish), Ry (English), Rye (Polish), Rio (Spanish), Rorie (Irish and Scottish), Rory (English, Irish, and Scottish), Ruairí (Irish and Scottish), Rui (Portuguese), Arrio, Aureo (Spanish), and Ruari (Irish). Details of famous persons named Roy: KEY: Pronunciation for Roy: R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; OY as in "toy (T.OY)"   |
