How common is the surname Royal?

15,755 people in the United States had the surname Royal in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,597 Americans. It ranked 2,319th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Royal?

Billy Joe Royal, American singer (1942-2015), followed by Ernie Royal.

Where is the surname Royal most common?

Wikidata records people named Royal in the United States.

Is the surname Royal getting more or less common?

More common. 14,739 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,755 in 2010, up 6.9%.

Is Royal also a first name?

Yes. Royal is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Royal

An English place surname, carried by 15,755 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex R400 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Royal is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

English origin

A habitational surname, shaped by folk etymology, from places in England, Riehale, Righale, Ryhill and Ryall, Old English ryge (“rye”) + hyll (“hill”), and Royle, rā (“roe”) + hyll (“hill”).

Royal is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 15,755 people named Royal in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,597 Americans. That is up 6.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 14,739.

#2,319

rank among US surnames

15,755

people in 2010

5.3

per 100,000 Americans

+6.9%

change since 2000 (was #2,264)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,310	Scruggs	15,808	19,531
#2,311	Giron	15,786	19,558
#2,313	McCloud	15,783	19,562
#2,314	Titus	15,780	19,566
#2,315	Burnham	15,775	19,572
#2,316	Grubbs	15,773	19,574
#2,317	Redding	15,767	19,582

Who is named Royal

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

52% of people named Royal identified as white (not Hispanic), 41% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 52%
Black (not Hispanic) 41%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.2%
Two or more races 2.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Royals

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Billy Joe Royal
American singer (1942-2015)
Ernie Royal
American jazz trumpeter (1921–1983)
Eddie Royal
American football player, born 1986

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Royal

Royal has the Soundex code R400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R400.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Royal come from?: A habitational surname, shaped by folk etymology, from places in England, Riehale, Righale, Ryhill and Ryall, Old English ryge (“rye”) + hyll (“hill”), and Royle, rā (“roe”) + hyll (“hill”).
How common is the surname Royal?: 15,755 people in the United States had the surname Royal in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,597 Americans. It ranked 2,319th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Royal?: In the 2010 Census, 52% of people named Royal identified as white (not Hispanic), and 41% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Royal?: Billy Joe Royal, American singer (1942-2015), followed by Ernie Royal.
Where is the surname Royal most common?: Wikidata records people named Royal in the United States.
What type of surname is Royal?: Royal is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Royal getting more or less common?: More common. 14,739 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,755 in 2010, up 6.9%.
Is Royal also a first name?: Yes. Royal is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.