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At a Glance: Name: Roy – Meaning: red, red-haired – Origin: Scottish Gaelic – Gender: Boy – Pronunciation: ROY
Roy is a boy's name with Scottish Gaelic roots, meaning "red" or "red-haired," from the word "ruadh." You'll often see it claimed that Roy means "king" (from the French "roi"), but that's a different word that happened to converge on the same spelling in English — the Gaelic root is what the given name actually traces to. It's pronounced ROY (/ˈrɔɪ/).
Meaning & Origin of Roy
Meaning: Red, red-haired.
Origin: Scottish Gaelic.
A common claim: Roy means 'king' Actually: Roy is very widely said to mean 'king' (from French roi), but as a given name it actually comes from Scottish Gaelic 'ruadh', meaning 'red' or 'red-haired' — the two origins have converged on the same spelling in English.
Source: Wiktionary.
How to Pronounce Roy
Phonetic: ROY IPA: /ˈrɔɪ/
Popularity of Roy
Roy peaked at #18 in 1889, when 888 babies were given the name, and has since fallen to #541 in 2024 with 552 babies — a name that was genuinely common over a century ago and has settled into much rarer territory across the SSA's 1880-2024 data.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1880–2024.
Make Roy Name Art
Free printable nursery art for Roy, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
Names With a Similar Story
Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.
FAQ
What does the name Roy mean?
Red, red-haired. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Roy)
How do you pronounce Roy?
Roy is pronounced ROY (IPA: /ˈrɔɪ/).
Is Roy a popular name right now?
Roy peaked at #18 in 1889 and is ranked #541 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1880–2024.)
📊 How popular is Roy? See the full popularity history, trend data, and ranking since 1880 with our free Baby Name Popularity Checker.
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