Roy
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | England, Normandy, Scotland |
| Meaning | King |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Roi, Rai, Ray |
| Related names | Rex, King, Kingsley, Kingston, Ry, Ray, Raymie, Raymond, Glenroy, Elroy, Leroi, Leroy, Royce, Royal |
Roy is an English, Scottish Gaelic, and French name of Norman origin. This family name originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings from Denmark, Norway and Iceland who later migrated to Normandy.[1][2] The derivation is from the word rey or roi, meaning "king". The Normans brought this surname to England, which in medieval times was used as a nickname either for one who behaved in a regal fashion, or who had earned the title in some contest of skill.[3] It also appears in Scottish Gaelic, from the word ruadh, meaning "red".
Roy can also be found in India as a variant of the name "Rai", which was a historical title of honour in India conferred by the British Raj. [4][5]
Given name
Roy is a common male given name. Notable people with the given name include:
- Roy Acuff, American musician
- Roy Andrews, naturalist and explorer
- Roy Ascott, British artist and theorist
- Roy Blount, Jr., writer and humorist
- Roy Blunt, United States congressman representing Missouri's 17th District
- Roy Campanella, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher
- Roy Castle English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician.
- Roy Clark, country music musician, best known for his work on the television program Hee Haw
- Roy Christian, New Zealand rugby league footballer
- Roy Cohn, lawyer best known as Senator Joseph McCarthy's counsel from 1953 to 1954
- Roy E. Disney (1930–2009), American businessman
- Roy O. Disney (1893–1971), American businessman
- Roy Drusky, country music singer
- Roy Face, often referred to as "Elroy Face", baseball all-star relief pitcher throughout the 1950s and 1960s
- Roy Firestone, sports talk show host
- Roy Foster (baseball), American baseball player
- Roy Gagnon, American football player
- Roy M. Goodman, New York state senator
- Roy Halladay, baseball pitcher
- Roy Halston Frowick (1932–1990), better known as Halston, clothing designer
- Roy Hamilton, popular R&B singer of the 1950s and 1960s
- Roy Hargrove, American jazz musician
- Roy Harper, musician
- Roy Harris, American classical music composer
- Roy Harrison, Irish former cricketer
- Roy Hartsfield, American baseball player in early 1950s and first manager of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays
- Roy Hattersley, British Labour politician
- Roy Head, R&B and country music singer
- Roy Hibbert, basketball player
- Roy Hodgson, English former football player and current manager
- Roy Horn, half of the Las Vegas show team Siegfried & Roy
- Roy Howell, baseball player
- Roy J. Glauber (born 1925), American physicist and 2005 Nobel prize winner
- Roy Lee Jackson, baseball pitcher in the 1970s and 1980s
- Roy Jenkins, British politician, statesman and author
- Roy Johnson (pitcher), baseball pitcher, manager and longtime coach
- Roy Jones, Jr., professional boxer
- Roy Keane, Irish former football player and current manager
- Roy Khan, former singer of power metal band Kamelot
- Roy Kim, born Kim Sang-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter
- Roy Kinnear (1934-1988), English actor
- Roy Lechthaler, American football player
- Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist
- Roy Makaay, Dutch football (soccer) player and current manager
- Roy Masters (commentator), American talk radio personality, podcaster and spiritual counselor
- Roy McMillan, American baseball player
- Roy Morris (c. 1930 - 2011), British Scout Leader, recipient of the Silver Wolf Award
- Roy Nelson (disambiguation), multiple people
- Roy Niederhoffer (born 1966), American hedge fund manager and philanthropist
- Roy Orbison, pioneer of rock and roll
- Roy Oxlade, English painter and writer on art
- Roy Pinney, herpetologist, professional photographer, writer, spelunker, pilot and war correspondent
- Roy Rogers (born Leonard Schley), singing movie cowboy
- Roy Sanders (Louisiana politician), American educator and Louisiana state legislator
- Roy Scheider, film actor
- Roy Schwitters, American physicist
- Roy D. Shapiro, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
- Roy Shepherd, British ice hockey player
- Roy Shepherd (pianist), Australian pianist and teacher
- Roy Sievers, American baseball player
- Roy Smalley, Jr., American baseball player, father of Roy Smalley III
- Roy Smalley III, American baseball player, son of Roy Smalley, Jr.
- Roy Staiger, baseball player in the late 1970s
- Roy Thomas (pitcher), baseball pitcher from the 1970s through the 1980s
- Roy Underhill, host of the PBS series The Woodwright's Shop
- Roy Webb, gospel music pianist and speaker
- Roy White, American all-star baseball player
- Roy Williamson, Scottish folk singer
- Roy Wilkins, civil rights activist
Surname
- Anupam Roy, singer and music director
- Ajoy Roy (born 1935), Bangladeshi physicist and human rights activist
- Anuradha Roy, Indian Bengali novelist and journalist
- Aruna Roy (born 1946), Indian Tamil social activist
- Arundhati Roy (born 1961), Indian Keralite novelist and peace activist
- Avik Roy, American political commentator
- Bidhan Chandra Roy (1882-1962), Indian Bengali politician
- Bikash Roy (1916-1987), Indian Bengali actor
- Bimal Roy (1909-1966), Indian Bengali film director
- Brandon Roy (born 1984), American basketball player
- Bryan Roy (born 1970), Dutch football (soccer) player and current manager
- Bunker Roy (born 1945), Indian Bengali social activist
- Claude Roy (physician) (born 1928), Canadian physician
- Claude Roy (poet) (1915–1997), French poet and essayist
- Claude Roy (politician) (born 1952), Canadian politician
- Debashree Roy (born 1961), Indian Bengali actress
- Deep Roy (born 1957), Kenyan-born Indian actor
- Derek Roy (born 1983), Canadian ice hockey player
- Derek Roy (comedian) (1922–1981), English comedian
- Dolon Roy (born 1970), Indian Bengali actress
- Drew Roy (born 1986), American actor
- Eric Roy (born 1948), New Zealand politician
- Éric Roy (born 1967), French footballer
- Fabien Roy (born 1928), Canadian politician
- Falguni Roy (1945-1981), Indian Bengali poet
- Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983), Canadian author
- Indra Lal Roy (1898-1918), Indian Bengali First World War flying ace
- Jahor Roy (1919-1977), Indian Bengali actor and comedian
- Jason Roy (born 1990), English cricketer
- James Roy (politician) (1893–1971), New Zealand politician
- James Roy (writer) (born 1968), Australian writer
- James A. Roy (born 1964), US Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
- Jeffrey Roy (born 1961), American politician and lawyer
- Jean Sebastien Roy, Canadian motocross rider who enjoyed success in the 2000s
- Jean-Yves Roy (born 1949), Canadian politician
- Juthika Roy (1920-2014), Indian Bengali singer
- Kalidas Roy (1889–1975), Indian Bengali poet
- Kanu Roy (born 1981), Indian Bengali film actor, and music composer
- Leela Roy (1900-1970), Indian Bengali independence activist and social reformer
- Leo Roy (1904-1955), American/Canadian boxer
- M. N. Roy (1887-1954), Indian Bengali philosopher and revolutionary
- Mathieu Roy (born 1983), Canadian ice hockey player
- Mathieu Roy (ice hockey) (born 1986), Canadian ice hockey player
- Nirupa Roy (1931-2004), Indian Gujarati actress
- Patrick Roy (born 1965), Canadian ice hockey head coach and former goaltender
- Prannoy Roy (born 1949), Indian Bengali journalist and media personality
- Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849–1932), Indian Bengali educationist
- Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), Indian Bengali religious, social and educational reformer
- Rahul Roy (born 1966), Indian film actor
- Sarat Chandra Roy (1871–1942), Indian Bengali anthropologist
- Satabdi Roy (born 1968), Indian Bengali actress
- Shasanka Mohan Roy (born 1941), Indian quantum physicist
- Shehzad Roy, Pakistani pop singer and social worker
- Subrata Roy (born 1948), Indian Bengali businessman
- Subimal Chandra Roy (1912-1971), Indian Bengali jurist
- Subodh Roy (1916–2006), Indian Bengali independence activist
- Sylvie Roy (1964-2016), Canadian politician
- Tarapada Roy (1936-2007), Indian Bengali author
- William Roy (1726–1790), Scottish surveyor
Fictional characters
- ROY, from the Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), voice by Jun Fukuyama
- Roy Hobbs, protagonist of the Bernard Malamud novel The Natural
- Roy Batty, the leader of the renegade replicants in the film Blade Runner
- Roy Cropper, from the British soap opera Coronation Street
- Roy DeSoto, from the TV series Emergency!
- Roy O'Brien, eponymous animated protagonist of the TV series Roy
- Roy Trenneman, from the British sitcom The IT Crowd
- Roy (Little Britain), from the British sketch show Little Britain
- Roy Mustang, from the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series
- Roy (Peanuts), a minor character from the Peanuts comic strip
- Roy Harper (comics), a superhero in the DC Comics universe
- Roy Race, from the comic strip Roy of the Rovers
- Roy Rooster, in the comic strip US Acres
- Roy Greenhilt, from the webcomic Order of the Stick
- Roy Koopa, one of the Koopalings from Super Mario Bros. 3
- Roy Earle, from the game L.A. Noire
- Roy Miller, protagonist from the film Knight and Day
See also
- Robert Roy MacGregor, commonly known as "Rob Roy"
- Ray (surname)
References
- ^ Discover the meaning and history behind your last name, Ancestry.com, retrieved 25 November 2013 which cited Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 for the surname "Roy".
- ^ "Norman". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ The Norman people and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States of America. Genealogical Pub Co. 1874. p. 403 & 321. ISBN 9780806306360. for the surname of "King" and "Roy".
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1989: from Skr. rāj: to reign, rule; cognate with L. rēx, rēg-is, OIr. rī, rīg king (see RICH).
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition (June 2008), on-line edition (September 2011): "spec. In full British Raj. Direct rule in India by the British (1858–1947); this period of dominion."
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