Roy

Updated on Dec 19, 2023

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Gender Male Alternative spelling Roi, Rai, Ray		Meaning King
Word/name England, Normandy, Scotland, India 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. The derivation is from the word rey or roi, meaning "king", and 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. 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. It is a Brahmin surname in India.

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 Tipler, an Australian Disk Jockey

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

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

Rahul Roy (born 1990), Indian

Sarat Chandra Roy (1871–1942), Indian Bengali anthropologist

Satabdi Roy (born 1968), Indian Bengali actress

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 Japanese video game series Fire Emblem

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

References

Roy Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Contents

Given name

Surname

Fictional characters

References