ninan.org

Roy

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~176,300 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#525 among boys
Births in 2025
570 411,331 since 1880
Typical age
65 years, median

Roy popularity over time

Roy rank by birth year, 1880–2025Roy ranked #37 in 1880 and #525 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #18, in 1889.#100#525best #18 in 188918901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Roy was used most in 1947, when 7,592 babies were given the name. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Roy has spent 89 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #525, on 570 births. It climbed 16 places against the previous year.

Babies named Roy per yearPeaks at 7,592 births in 1947.7,592 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Roy?

Roughly 176,300 Roys are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 411,331 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Roy?

Half of living Roys are older than 65, half younger. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Roy a mid-century perennial name.

Your Roy

Ages of living people named RoyHalf of living Roys are older than 65 and half younger.median 65020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Roy is most common

Relative to births, Montana carries 3.8× the national share of Roys. Minnesota, Oregon and Washington follow.

Where Roy is used more than average5 states use the name Roy more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.4× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: 3.8× the national rateMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: 1.7× the national rateMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: 1.7× the national rateORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.4× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Roy is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Montana 36 3.8×
Minnesota 124 1.7×
Oregon 76 1.7×
Washington 139 1.4×
California 817 1.4×

Roy in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Roy ranked #728 in 2025 on 48 births. That is 2.1× higher than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Roy comes from

From various sources: * Anglo-Norman roy (“king”) a variant of Old French roi, from Latin rēx, rēgem from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”). Doublet of Rey. Scottish Gaelic ruadh (“red, red-haired”) from Old Irish rúad, from Proto-Celtic *roudos from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-. Anglicisation of Bengali রায়. Doublet of Rai, rex, rajah.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Roy

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Roy J. Glauber American theoretical physicist 1925–2018 72
Roy Orbison American musician 1936–1988 65
Roy Keane Irish football manager 1971 63
Roy Lichtenstein American pop artist 1923–1997 57
Roy Scheider American actor 1932–2008 55
Roy Hodgson English football manager 1947 49
Roy Makaay Dutch footballer 1975 47
Roy Emerson Australian tennis player 1936 42
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,412 in 1911 to 2,609 in 1912 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/roy.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).