# Roy (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/roy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Anglo-Norman.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Norman |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 53,159 |
| US rank (2010) | 640 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,808 people |
| Change since 2000 | +6.9% (49,725 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹoɪ̯/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## 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.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Roy in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 75% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 9.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 9.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Roy in the United States, India, Bangladesh, Australia, Canada and Argentina.

## People named Roy

- Brandon Roy, American basketball player and coach (born 1984)
- Avijit Roy, Bangladeshi-American engineer, blogger and activist (1972-2015)
- Drew Roy, American actor
- Chip Roy, American politician (born 1972)
- Sarah Roy, Australian cyclist
- Callista Roy, American nurse and professor
- Vesta M. Roy, American politician (1925-2002)
- Maria Roy, actress
- André Roy, American-born Canadian ice hockey player
- Matt Roy, American professional ice hockey Defenseman
- Willy Roy, American soccer player-coach
- Devapriya Roy, author

and 5 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Roe, Roa, Ro, Row, Roh, Roye, Ray, Rowe, Rea, Rao, Rau, Rey.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.