Roy

also Leroy, Le Roy

'King' without the article — and a pillar of Quebec.

Origin: French
Register: French family

The seat of Roy

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Roy community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Roy has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Roy clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Roy clan →

What does the Roy name mean?

A nickname — roy, the older spelling of roi, 'king' — the bare form of Leroy without its article: for a man of regal bearing or a festival 'king'.

The history of Roy

Roy is Leroy stripped of its le, in the older spelling French kept in writing for centuries. Carried by founding settlers of New France, it became one of the two or three most common surnames of Quebec.

Beware a false twin: the Scottish Gaelic Roy is ruadh, red-haired (as in Rob Roy) — an entirely unrelated name the English-speaking world sometimes confuses with the French king.

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Frequently asked

What does the surname Roy mean?

A nickname — roy, the older spelling of roi, 'king' — the bare form of Leroy without its article: for a man of regal bearing or a festival 'king'. Roy is Leroy stripped of its le, in the older spelling French kept in writing for centuries.

Is Roy a French surname?

Yes, Roy is a French surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is French, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.

How old is the Roy surname?

Roy is Leroy stripped of its le, in the older spelling French kept in writing for centuries. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Roy name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Roy family known for?

'King' without the article — and a pillar of Quebec. Roy is Leroy stripped of its le, in the older spelling French kept in writing for centuries.

Is Leroy the same family as Roy?

Yes. Leroy is a historical spelling variant of the Roy name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Le Roy the same family as Roy?

Yes. Le Roy is a historical spelling variant of the Roy name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Roy surname found today?

French is the primary historical home of the Roy surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same French origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Roy family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Roy family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of French so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Roy family today?

The seat for the head of the Roy family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.