Origin and popularity of the name ROY
Origin
Roy : 1: Scottish: nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion from Gaelic ruadh ‘red’. Compare Reed.2: English (of Norman origin): from Old French roi ‘king’ used as a nickname (see 3 below) and also as a personal name. Compare Ray 2.3: French and Walloon: from Old French rey roy ‘king’ (from Latin rex) a nickname for someone who lived in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some contest of skill or by presiding over festivities. This may also be a habitational name from (Le) Roy the name of several places in various parts of France and in Belgium (Wallonia). Compare Deroy and Leroy.4: Germanized or Americanized form of Polish Sorbian Czech and Slovenian Roj or Polish and Sorbian Rój: probably a nickname for an irascible quick-tempered man or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper from Lower Sorbian Czech and Slovenian roj Polish and Upper Sorbian rój ‘swarm (of bees)’.5: Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: variant of Rai.
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
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Last name frequency
Geographic distribution of the 1,771,575 individuals with the name ROY on Geneanet.
Most found places for the name ROY:
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