Roy — Mediated Wiki

{{other uses}} {{Infobox given name |pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɔɪ}} | name = Roy | gender = Male | meaning = King, Red | origin = Old Norman<br/>Old French<br/>Bengali<br/>Scottish Gaelic | related names = Fitzroy, Rex, Rey, Ray, Rai|alternative spelling=Roi|variant forms=Leroy, Leroi, Deroy}}

'''Roy''' is both a given name and a family surname with varied origins.

== France & England == [[File:House of Le Roy, Normandie.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Coat of arms of Le Roy, Normandy. Bibliothèque nationale de France.]]

{{Blockquote |text=A furore Normanorum, libera nos, Domine! THE KING OF AMIGNY... It is therefore to the seventh century that we would have to go back and delve into the furious hordes of those indomitable Norsemen, whose origins we have just outlined, to find there, in France, the mother stock of those LE ROYs we are discussing... |author=Du Cluzel de Remaurin, Knight}}

=== Origin === Written interchangeably in records as: ''Roi'', ''Le Roi'', ''De Roy'', and ''Le Roy'', the surname Roy originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who settled in Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy.<ref name="Chevalier">{{cite web |title= Généalogie de la noble et ancienne maison des Le Roy |author= Du Cluzel de Remaurin, Chevalier. |website= Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Philosophie, histoire, sciences de l'homme |url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k56642609/f12.item |access-date= 30 May 2023 |quote= "Ecrit indifféremment dans quelques actes: Roi, Le Roi, De Roy et Le Roy." "D'origine normande, la noble maison des LE ROY 1, divisée en quatre principales bran-ches, dont nous donnons ici la généalogie, remonte à la plus haute antiquité, c'est-à-dire à ces fiers enfants du Nord (Nort-mans) qui, du fond de la Norwège 2, sous la conduite des Hadding, des Gerlon, des Héric et autres chefs non moins inhumains et farouches, inon-dèrent la Gaule au septième siècle, et ne laissèrent rien d'entier sur leur passage que les traces sanglantes de leur barbarie, la désolation et des' ruines, assiégèrent trois fois Paris et en effrayèrent si fort les habitants..." "GUILLAUME LE ROY, — alias DE ROY, — écuyér, chevalier du Temple..." "D'origine chevaleresque, la maison des LE ROY a donné à l'armée une longue série d'officiers distingués de tous grades, soit dans l'infanterie, la cavalerie, la maison du roi et rartillerie ; elle a eu deux chevaliers de l'ordre du Roi et plusieurs chevaliers de l'ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis, des chambellans, des sénéchaux, des gouverneurs, des magistrats intègres dans les baillages et les cours souveraines, et enfin des conseillers du roi et des trésoriers de ses épargnes..." "les LE ROY ont été maintenus dans leur noblesse, en outre de l'arrêt de la Cour des aides de Normandie de 1494, cité plus haut, par des sen-tences, des années 1546, 1637 et 1671 ; et après avoir fourni par devant d'Hozier, juge d'armes de France, les preuves irréfragables de leur noblesse..." |year= 1863 |archive-date= 30 May 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230530194718/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k56642609/f12.item |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="Hankes">{{cite book |author=Patrick Hanks|title=Dictionary of American Family Names |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003|volume=1|page=xcvii|isbn=0-19-508137-4 |quote=Roy: English (of Norman origin): from Old French roi ‘king’ used as a nickname (see 3 below) and also as a personal name. French: from Old French rey roy ‘king’. Compare Deroy and Leroy.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2016|volume=3|page=2287|isbn= 9780199677764 |quote=Roy : Norman, English, Huguenot: nickname, relationship name from Old French roi ‘king’, used as a nickname and also as a personal name...surnames: Adam le Roy, 1268 in Feet of Fines (Suffolk); Simon Roy, 1273 in Hundred Rolls (Cambs).}}.</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Norman |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Norman-people |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=22 July 2020 |quote=Norman, member of those Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France...The Normans (from Nortmanni: "Northmen") were originally pagan barbarian pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. |archive-date=15 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615074402/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Norman-people |url-status=live }}</ref> It derived from the Old French ''roy'', ''roi'' ({{IPA|fr|ʁwa}}), meaning "king", or "the king" which was a byname used before the Norman Conquest and a personal name in the Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite web|title= Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, des pairs, grands officiers de la couronne & de la maison du Roy, & des anciens barons du royaume|author= Anselme de Sainte-Marie |location= Compagnie des Libraires, Paris. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sNlEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA249 |access-date=15 July 2023 |quote=Genealogie De La Maison De Le Roy...Guillaume le Roy III, du nom, seigneur de Chavigny, du Chillou...Femme, Françoise de Fontenays...1.René le Roi, seigneur de Chavigny, qui fuit...2.Guyon le Roy, seigneur du Chillou & de Mondon...| year=1733 }}</ref> The Normans, or "Northmen", after having settled in their new lands in Northern France, quickly adopted the Old French dialects of the region and would later take their language and naming practices with them to England.<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Barber, Joan C. Beal, Philip A. Shaw |title=The English Language A Historical Introduction |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2009|page=137-160|isbn=0521854040 |quote=During the later part of the Old English period, two different groups of non-English speakers invaded the country. Both groups were Scandinavian in origin, but whereas the first had retained its Scandinavian speech, the second had settled in northern France and become French-speaking. Both of their languages, Old Norse (ON) and Old French (OF), had a considerable influence on English.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Albert Dauzat|title=Les noms de personnes: origine et évolution. Prénoms. Noms de famille. Surnoms. Pseudonymes |publisher=Éditions Delagrave |year=1925|page=117|quote=La distinction la plus aisée, celle qui domine toutes les autres, est celle qui oppose les formes du nord à celles du midi, langue d’oïl à langue d’oc. Sachant, par exemple, que dans le midi p, c, t latins entre deux voyelles sont devenus b, g, d, tandis qu'ils aboutissent à v, y ou disparaissent au nord; que à, e toniques libres restent au sud, passent à e, oi (en principe) au nord; o tonique libre, là à eu, ici à ou, — ou pourra déjà classer un nombre appréciable de noms, comme Rube, Lèbre, Viguier, Sudour Rey, Delprat, Laprade, Loubet, du Midi, en face de Rive Lièvre, Voyer, Sueur, Roy, Dupré, Louvet, qui appar-tiennent au nord.}}</ref>

Norman usage of the spelling variant Roy in written text dates back to the 12th-century Norman poet Wace in ''Roman de Rou'', where he used both the "rei" & "roy" forms for the title of "king".<ref>{{cite web|title=La geste des trois fils Guillaume? Henry I in Wace's Roman de Rou|author= Françoise H. M. Le Saux |location= Central Archive at the University of Reading |url= https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/22192/1/RMS-2008-12_F._H._M._Le_Saux%2C_%27La_geste_des_trois_fils_Guillaume%27.pdf |access-date=25 March 2026 |quote=Henris iert reis hastivement se mis augures ne me ment. Remembre tei de ço qu'ai dit, que cist iert reis jusqu'a petit. (10093-6)...Eis vas la guerre comencie, qui ne pot pais estre apaisie, de si la que li dux fu pris et que li roys out tout conquis. (10839- 42)| page=203-205| year=2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Professor F Le Saux|location= St Joseph's College, Reading |url= https://www.sjcr.org.uk/governors/professor-f-le-saux/ |access-date=25 March 2026 |quote=Safeguarding Governor & Governor of the Education Committee...Francoise is a sessional lecturer at the University of Reading. As French Studies Programme Director her responsibilities include teaching at all levels of undergraduate study (French language; medieval French history; medieval French literature; comparative literature) and teaching at Masters level. Her research interests are in the area of medieval literary history, particularly issues of translation and cultural adaptation in the Middle Ages and Arthurian literature. }}</ref> Wace wrote in vernacular Old Norman (also known as ''Old Northern French''), which is among the few records of Old Norman that remain.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Wace |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wace |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=25 March 2026 |quote=Wace (born c. 1100, Jersey, Channel Islands—died after 1174) was an Anglo-Norman author of two verse chronicles, the Roman de Brut (1155) and the Roman de Rou (1160–74), named respectively after the reputed founders of the Britons and Normans. The Rou was commissioned by Henry II of England, who sometime before 1169 secured for Wace a canonry at Bayeux in northwestern France. }}</ref> The Roy family is also recorded in the 12th century amongst the other family surnames of the city of Caen in Normandy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jean-Marie |first1=Laurence |date=1998 |title=Anthroponymie caennaise et origine géographique des Caennais (Xle-milieu du XlVe siècle) |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/annor_0003-4134_1998_num_48_1_4828 |journal=Annales de Normandie |issue=48-1 |publisher=Université de Caen, Université de Rouen, CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) |pages=35,56,65 |quote=Après élimination des cas douteux, il apparaît clairement que les noms de familles se fixent. Ainsi, une petite moitié (47 %) des noms à connotation géographique repérés au XI e et Xlle siècles, figurant encore dans les sources du XHIe siècle, et grâce à diverses indications, en premier lieu la filiation, on peut certifier dans un certain nombre de cas qu'il s'agit des mêmes familles...II s'agit d'une sélection des principaux anthroponymes. On a uniquement retenu, à partir du Xllème siècle, les noms les plus fréquemment mentionnés dans les sources ou bien les plus caractéristiques, notamment ceux qui expriment une origine géographique, ou encore quelques dénominations insolites. Les formes les plus douteuses ont été éliminées. L'orthographe de certains noms étant fort variable, la plus courante ou la plus claire a été choisie... Roy le |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref>

[[File:Blason-argent-3-merlettes-sable.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Le Roy of Amigny (Silver, three black merlettes)]] Originally, Roy may have been a regal name, either from "kingly" bearing, a position of authority, a tournament winner, or one who was in the service of the king.<ref>{{cite web|title=Leroy|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer0000unse_r0m5/page/306/mode/2up?q=roy |work=Dictionary of American family names |access-date=22 May 2023 |quote=French: from Old French rey, roy ‘king’ (from Latin rex, genitive regis) (see Roy.), with the definite article le. It may have been an occupational name for someone in the service of the king, or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some contest of skill...King: The word was already used as a byname before the Norman Conquest, and the nickname was common in the Middle Ages...French LEROY.}}</ref> This reflects Norman adaptation of social or martial identifiers — a cultural inheritance from their Viking ancestry, eventually forming a family name that would be passed down.<ref>{{cite book |author=Eva Brylla|title=The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2016|volume=1|page=237–250|isbn=9780199656431 |quote=In medieval naming systems, bynames are secondary formations derived from existing words (nouns/adjectives) and serve to distinguish individuals by characteristics such as home district, birthplace, family function, physical traits, habits, or ways of expressing oneself. These formations are part of the anthroponomastic system and provide insight into social identification practices...Eva Brylla was Docent (Senior Lecturer) in Scandinavian Languages at Uppsala University, specializing in name research. Her doctoral thesis was on the inflection of place‑names in Old Swedish, and she published extensively on both place‑names and personal names. She was formerly the Head of the Department of Names at the Institute of Language and Folklore Research in Uppsala.}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Medieval English Nicknames and Surnames|url=https://www.onomastics.ru/en/content/2020-volume-17-issue-3-1|work=Problems of Onomastics|access-date=3 March 2026|quote=…such nicknames [i.e., bynames] could be occupational, relational, locative, descriptive, or metaphoric, and were reflective of social roles and individual behavior or characteristics — putting on display a wide range of medieval social roles and attitudes.|archive-date=15 November 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251115213929/http://www.onomastics.ru/en/content/2020-volume-17-issue-3-1|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages === thumb|upright=0.8|Coat of arms of the Knights Templar Earliest references cite ''Guillaume de Roy'' (William of Roy), who was a knight of the Knights Templar<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAx-DwAAQBAJ&q=Guillaume+De+Roy&pg=RA1-PA52 |title=The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial|author=Alain Demurger |year=2019| publisher=Simon and Schuster | isbn=978-1-64313-089-7 | access-date=12 July 2023 |quote=Seven of these nine Templars are also on the list of brothers who came from Gisors on 26 February 1310: Henri Zappellans or Chapelain, Anceau de Rocheria, Enard de Valdencia, Guillaume de Roy, Geoffroy de Cera or de La Fere-en-Champagne, Robert Harle or de Hermenonville, and Dreux de Chevru; the two others, Robert de Mortefontaine and Robert de Monts-de-Soissons, perhaps appear under different names. We don’t know the reasons why those nine Templars were not taken back to Gisors. They are catalogued as ‘non-reconciled’: that is, they had not been absolved and reconciled with the Church by a diocesan commission. They attended neither the Council of Sens nor that of Reims in May 1310. They were from different dioceses: Toul, Sens, Chalons-en-Champagne, Treves but also Soissons (Guillaume de Roy), Laon (Geoffroy de La Fere) and Senlis (Robert Harle).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Bulletin de la Société académique de Laon |author= Société académique de Laon |website= Bibliothèque nationale de France |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k441211c/f150.item# |access-date=12 July 2023 |quote=Procès des Templiers" "Nicolas de Celles; Gauthier de Villesavoye; Etienne de Compiègne; Robert de Montreuil-aux-Lions, pètre; Guillaume de Roy; Geoffroy de Cère; Eloi de Pavant; Raoul et Pierre de Compiègne, Pierre d'Anizy défendront tous l'Ordre. | year=1864 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Les Templiers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIzj9W9eebcC&q=Roy |work=Mémoires historiques sur les Templiers, ou Éclaircissemens nouveaux sur leur histoire, leur procès, les accusations intentées contr'eux, et les causes secrètes de leur ruine |author=De Philippe Antoine Grouvelle| year=1805| access-date=12 July 2023 |quote=Noms des Frères rassemblés le 28 mars 1310, devant les Commissaires charges par le Pape de l'Enquête sur les griefs imputés à l'Ordre du Temple en général... 184. Guillaume De Roy}}</ref> and one of several knights, abbots<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.openedition.org/pur/305945 |title=Le Mont-Saint-Michel dans la guerre de Cent Ans|author=David Fiasson|year=2026| publisher=Presses universitaires de Rennes | isbn=979-1041300716 | access-date=17 April 2026|quote=De Pierre Le Roy, dom Huynes écrit : « il mérite d’estre appelé de fait et de nom le roi des abbéz, je ne dirai pas du Mont-Saint-Michel, mais encore de tout son siècle1… » Sans céder à cet enthousiasme chauvin, il faut reconnaître que l’abbé élu en 1386 était une personnalité d’envergure. Né dans le diocèse de Coutances à une date indéterminée, Pierre Le Roy mène de brillantes études à Paris dans les années 1370. En 1380, il est non seulement moine de l’abbaye cotentine de Lessay, mais encore docteur en droit canon, et même régent de la faculté de décrets de Paris...Au total, l’abbatiat de Pierre Le Roy marqua effectivement une date dans l’histoire du Mont. Excellent gestionnaire, il sut renforcer et protéger le temporel de son abbaye. Ses travaux de fortifications furent à la pointe de l’architecture militaire de son temps. Universitaire réputé, il remit à l’honneur les études dans son abbaye. Autant son abbatiat est salué par l’ensemble de l’historiographie comme une véritable renaissance de l’abbaye – ce qui est partiellement injuste pour ses devanciers – autant son successeur, Robert Jolivet, a été longtemps dénigré, sans égard pour la relation de continuité qui unit leurs gouvernements.}}</ref> and feudal lords (seigneur) of the Roy family in France and Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web|title=François Le Roy, chevalier de l'ordre du Roi|url=https://francearchives.gouv.fr/en/facomponent/ec39732cbf57c6c0cf71c63bbb3093bc516aa50a |work=France Archives (Portail National Des Archives) |access-date=14 July 2023 |quote=François Le Roy, chevalier de l'ordre du Roi, capitaine des Cent gentilshommes de sa maison, conseiller du Roi au conseil privé, comte de Clinchamp et de Chavigny et Antoinette de La Tour, dame de Vaurineux, sa femme : testament....}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Armorial du Saint-Esprit : Seigneur François Le Roy|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8470172t/f64.item |work=Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. |access-date=14 July 2023 |quote=Recueil de tous les chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint Esprit, depuis l'institution jusques en la presente année mil six cens trente un, avec les armoiries... le tout recueilly et mis en ordre par le Sr DE VALLES, de la ville de Chartres, en Beauce. A Paris.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Domaine de La Grange-le-Roi (Grisy-Suisnes) |url=https://francearchives.gouv.fr/fr/findingaid/0e56b5b1ab244649bd991c2655f1c96df5020d97 |work=France Archives (Portail National Des Archives) - Archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne |date=2020 |access-date=4 February 2025 |quote=Les historiens et chercheurs sont revenus de la théorie du XIXe siècle attribuant la fondation du château de la Grange à François Ier. L'appellation « Le-Roy », ou plus tardivement « le-Roi », ne découle en effet d'aucune intervention du roi ou quelconque appartenance au domaine royal. Elle résulte plutôt de l'acquisition du domaine par Jacques Le Roy, mis en possession du château et de la seigneurie de la Grange les 8 et 21 octobre 1579. Le village de la Grange, composé d'habitants travaillant presque tous pour le château, est érigé en paroisse en 1580. Le 7 novembre 1581, Jacques de Camprémy, un des successeurs des Le Picart à Grisy, vend la terre et seigneurie éponyme à Jacques Le Roy. Ce dernier obtient du pouvoir royal la haute justice sur Grisy et ses dépendances, qui restent entre les mains des propriétaires du château de la Grange jusqu'à la Révolution française et l'abolition des privilèges."Jacques Le Roy est un personnage de premier plan dans l'entourage d'Henri IV. Conseiller du roi, il est aussi Grand Louvetier de France (1582-1601), trésorier de l'Épargne (1580-1588) et surintendant des Bâtiments à Fontainebleau. Il occupe également la charge de lieutenant du gouverneur de Melun en 1590 avant de devenir lui-même gouverneur de la place l'année suivante. En 1594, il achète au roi le comté de Melun. La famille Le Roy pourvoit ses membres de nombreux bénéfices ecclésiastiques dans les environs, comme au monastère d'Hermières en Brie, à l'abbaye des Bénédictins de Melun ou à l'abbaye de Quincy. Un des fils de Jacques Le Roy, François Le Roy, hérite de son titre de seigneur de la Grange-le-Roy en 1608. |archive-date=5 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405013225/https://francearchives.gouv.fr/fr/findingaid/0e56b5b1ab244649bd991c2655f1c96df5020d97 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Congrès archéologique de France : séances générales tenues ... par la Société française pour la conservation des monuments historiques |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3209987w/f156.item |work=Société française d'archéologie |date=1997 |access-date=23 August 2023 |quote=Du château fort au château neuf Modeste fief de Lerné, la terre de Chavigny, qui relevait du château de Loudun et qui est érigée en châtellenie en 1518, appartenait dès le XIV e siècle â la famille Le Roy. Le 19 juillet 1432, Guillaume Le Roy obtient l’autorisation de fortifier son manoir, qui présente bientôt « fossés, tour, pont-levis, barbacane, mâchicoulis et autres rempare-ments » (5). En 1543, François Le Roy (1519-1606), capitaine d'une compagnie d’archers qui combat en Piémont sous les ordres du maréchal de Brissac, modernise le château familial en bâtissant un corps de galeries (6). |archive-date=18 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718150650/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3209987w/f156.item |url-status=live }}</ref> While born ''Guillaume Le Roy'', the usage of de Roy ("of Roy"), a nobiliary particle, signified hereditary nobility.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Knight in Medieval England, 1000-1400|author=Peter Coss |year=1993 |publisher=Alan Sutton Publishing | isbn=978-0-7509-0127-7 | page=76 |quote=The adoption of the territorial surname, the name preceded by 'de', was a clear indicator of the crystallizing identity of the knightly class... it signified not just a place of origin, but a stable association between a family and its caput [head of the fief], transforming a mere name into a hereditary claim of status and land.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Annales de démographie historique|url= https://shs.cairn.info/revue-annales-de-demographie-historique-2016-1-page-13?lang=fr |work=Noms de famille et noms de terre dans la noblesse française à l’époque moderne |access-date= 14 February 2026 |quote=La noblesse française d’Ancien Régime est un bon observatoire des usages des noms et de leurs transformations dans le temps. On le sait, les nobles se caractérisaient par deux types de noms, les noms de famille, appelés surnoms, et les noms de seigneurie, qu’il n’était pas si facile de distinguer puisque les premiers pouvaient provenir des seconds... Dans la noblesse, la transmission du nom fut donc d’emblée largement liée à la possession de seigneuries, féodalité et essor du surnom se combinant pour fonder le système anthroponymique nobiliaire associant nom « personnel » (de famille) et nom...Les noms réels étaient une expression de l’idéologie féodale, d’où l’importance de la particule « de », qui pouvait être l’indice d’un nom personnel ancré dans une origine seigneuriale.|year=2016|author=Élie Haddad }}</ref><ref name="Chevalier"/> Specifically, this was a claimed connection to a lineage of knights and the lord of a fief recognized by the monarch, rather than a simple descriptive surname which was a legal requirement to be a knight of the Templars.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Knights Templar Encyclopedia: The Essential Guide to the People, Places, Events, and Symbols of the Order of the Temple|author=Dr. Karen Ralls |year=2007 |publisher=New Page Books | isbn=9781564149268 | page=368 |quote=The knight was the backbone of the battlefield. Knights were the equivalent of the cavalry. A small force of knights was very powerful, skilled in warfare, clad in armor, able to take on a large number of foot soldiers. Only a man whose father and grandfather both had been knights could become one, and if he were caught lying about his lineage, the penalty was severe. No bastard (illegitimate) son could be a knight...candidates for the rank of knight typically had to be knighted in the secular world before joining the Order.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple|author=Malcolm Barber |year=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0521420419 | page=205 |quote=And if the brother is a knight, we do not ask him any of that, but we can ask him if he is the son of a knight and a lady, and that his fathers are of the lineage of knights; and if it is a loyal marriage…}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Acta Templarorium ou la prosopographie des templiers. Préface de|author=Jean-Luc Alias |year=2002 |publisher=Les Trois Spirales | isbn=978-2-84773-006-7 | page=363,573 |quote=ROY (Guillaume de) Templier c. 1307...Frère chevalier}}</ref> Medieval court scribes consistently translated vernacular names into Latin. Guillaume de Roy is recorded as ''Guillelmus de Roy'', Templar of the Diocese of Soissons, by the scribes during the Trials of the Knights Templar.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bibliothèque nationale de France|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2081892/f682.item |work=Le procès des Templiers, Tome I. |access-date=11 February 2026 |quote=Post hec, eadem die Jovis accessimus ad domum Johannis le Grant, sitam Parisius prope ponctam sancti Heustachii, ubi detinebantur XXX Templarii, ex hiis qui fuerant in dicto viridario domini episcopi Parisiensis, ut supradictum est, videlicet fratres P. Bons, Ansellus de la Rochiera, Evrardus de Valdencia, P. de Dampno Martino, Thomas de Trecis, Lambertus de Gorzol, G. de Conde, Raynaldus de Landovilla, Robertus de Morestoirol...Guillelmus de Roy...Requisitus si viderat aliquem alium recipi in ordine, respondit quod sic, fratres Bertrandum de Crotoy quondam, et Guillelmum de Roy, in dicta capella, per dictum fratrem Johannem de Sernoy, in festo Omnium Sanctorum proxime preterito fuerunt XI anni vel circa, presentibus fratribus qui interfuerant recepcioni ipsius testis...Guillelmus de Roy Suessionensis, Thomas de Luier Remensis, et Richardus de Marselhie Ebroicensis diocesium responderunt quod volunt dictum ordinem deffendere...Roy (F. Guillelmus de); p. 85, 106, 133, 547.}}</ref>

=== Anglo-Norman England === [[File:Edward III of England (Order of the Garter).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|"Roy" Edward III, King of England. ''Bruges Garter Book''.]] After the Norman Conquest, the victorious Normans and their allies settled England and eventually formed the ruling class of nobles called Anglo-Normans.<ref>{{cite web |title=Anglo-Norman |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/anglo-norman |work=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=17 September 2024 |quote=Anglo-Norman in British English history adjective 1. relating to the Norman conquerors of England, their society, or their language noun 2. a Norman inhabitant of England after 1066 3. the Anglo-French language |archive-date=12 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812144341/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/anglo-norman |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hankes"/> Roy, or Roi was a family name<ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of English and Welsh surnames|url=https://archive.org/details/adictionaryengl00goog/page/656/mode/2up?q=Roy |work=A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames, with special American instances |access-date=26 January 2026 |quote=Roy - Nick. 'le roi,' the king; v. King and Rex. Simon Roy co. Camb., 1273}}</ref> and also a title that was held by the kings of England & royal administration (such as: ''Norroy'' "North King" and ''Viceroy'' "In place of King").<ref>{{cite web |title=Les roys de Engeltere: An illustrated genealogy for King Edward I (Cotton MS Vitellius A XIII/1) |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:faf0b636-cae2-4c01-872c-a6b35de0f928/download_file?safe_filename=Dunning_2018_les_roys_de.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article |work=Les roys de Engeltere |access-date=17 September 2024 |quote=The series of images of English kings from Edward the Confessor to Edward I in London, British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A. XIII/1 is widely familiar from television, textbooks, websites, and exhibitions. In spite of this, the origins and context of this set of four leaves are mysterious. The limited attention given to them has focused on the images rather than the Anglo-Norman captions attached to them, which forms a genealogy of the kings, derived from earlier sources. "''Sir Lowys fiz le Roy Phylippe de Fraunce en Engletere. Le Roy Jon regna .xvii. aunz e demy...''" "Sir Louis, the son of Philip king of France, came into England.... King John reigned for seventeen and a half years..." |year=1272–1307 |archive-date=17 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917225802/https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:faf0b636-cae2-4c01-872c-a6b35de0f928/download_file?safe_filename=Dunning_2018_les_roys_de.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Norroy |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/norroy |work=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=2 July 2023 |quote=Word origin C15: Old French nor north + roy king |archive-date=14 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914232509/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/norroy |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time |author= Burke, Bernard, Sir |website= London : Harrison & sons (Internet Archive) |url=https://archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burk/page/n34/mode/1up?q=Roy |access-date=2 July 2023 |quote="Norroy King of Arms", the most ancient of the heraldic sovereigns in England possesses as his province, England north of the Trent. He is the North King — "Norroy." The English Heralds bear the designation of "Windsor", "Chester", "Somerset", "Lancaster", "York" and "Richmond" the Pursuivants, are known by the names of "Rouge Dragon", "Rouge Croix", "Bluemantle" and "Portcullis." The date of the creation of the historic and dignified office of Garter King of Arms may be fixed with certainty to have been between May and September, 1417. The first Garter was William Bruges, originally styled "Guyenne King of Arms" and subsequently "Garteir Roy d'Armes des Anglois." By the constitution of King Henry VIII., it was provided that Garter should be Sovereign within the College of Arms above all the other officers... | year=1884 }}</ref> This is also seen with Anglo-Norman patronymic surnames like ''Fitzroy'', from ''Fi(t)z'' meaning "son of" and ''Roy'' "king", denoting the name bearer as a "son of the king".<ref>{{cite web |title=Fitzroy |url=https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=fitzroy#:~:text=Irish%3A%20Anglo%2DNorman%20French%20patronymic,is%20also%20a%20possible%20interpretation. |work=Dictionary of American family names |access-date=30 May 2023 |quote=Irish: Anglo-Norman French patronymic from fi(t)z ‘son’ (see Fitz) + Roy ‘king son of the king’. It is usually taken to imply that the original bearer was a bastard son of the king... |archive-date=20 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620221333/https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=fitzroy#:~:text=Irish%3A%20Anglo%2DNorman%20French%20patronymic,is%20also%20a%20possible%20interpretation. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stowe MS 594 |url=https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Stowe_MS_594 |work=William Bruges’ Garter Book |access-date=28 May 2023 |quote=Languages: Anglo-Norman |last1=Bruges |first1=William |year=1430–1440 |archive-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109222010/http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Stowe_MS_594 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Roy Edward (Edward III) manuscript | url=https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=5334 | work=William Bruges’ Garter Book | access-date=28 May 2023 | quote=Edward III and Henry, Duke of Lancaster, of the Order of the Garter. | last1=Bruges | first1=William | year=1430–1440 | archive-date=28 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528154233/https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=5334 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Le Roy le veult'' ("The King wills it"), is a Norman French phrase still used in the Parliament of the United Kingdom to this day as royal assent. A legacy of a time prior to 1488 when parliamentary and judicial proceedings were conducted in Norman, the language of the conquerors after 1066.<ref>{{cite web|title=Le roy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l05HAQAAMAAJ&q=le+roy+le+veult&pg=PA267 |work=Origins of the English People and the English Languages |access-date=23 May 2023 |quote=...the kings of England have retained the custom of using the Old Norman language when they give the royal assent... as: Le roy le veult; | last1=Roemer | first1=Jean | year=1888 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=House of Commons Procedure and Practice Second Edition, 2009 |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure-book-livre/en/document?sbdid=da2ac62f-bb39-4e5f-9f7d-90ba3496d0a6&sbpid=78b3c2eb-0124-40ae-87f7-687dfe010823 |location=House of Commons Canada |access-date=30 May 2023 |quote=He did so using the formulas le roy le veult to signify assent and le roy s’avisera to withhold it. Until the latter part of the reign of Edward III (1327‑77), all parliamentary proceedings were conducted in Norman French. The use of English was extremely rare until the reign of Henry IV (1399‑1413). Beginning with the reign of Henry VII (1485‑1509), English was used for all proceedings, with the exception of the Royal Assent, which was always expressed in French |year=2009 |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531000957/https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure-book-livre/en/document?sbdid=da2ac62f-bb39-4e5f-9f7d-90ba3496d0a6&sbpid=78b3c2eb-0124-40ae-87f7-687dfe010823 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== North America === thumb|Arms of the Association of Roy Families of America. In Canada and in the United States, the descendants of the families of Roy, Le Roy<ref>{{cite web|title=La conquête du Canada par les Normands : biographie de la première génération normande du Canada |url= https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/1987126 |work=Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec |access-date= 24 March 2026 |quote=174 LE ROY, v. Roy... 228 ROY (Le), Denis : né à Rouen en 1644...ROY, Guillaume : né à Saint-Malo de Magny (Calvados)...ROY, Jean, dit Portelance : né à Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Caen (Calvados)...ROY (Le), Jeanne : de Cherbourg (Manche)...ROY (Le), Louis : né à Saint-Remy de Dieppe le 26 novembre 1658...ROY (Le), Marie...ROY (Le), Nicolas : né à Saint-Remy de Dieppe...ROY (Le), Nicolas : né à Arcanville, au diocèse de Rouen, de Nicolas et de Madeleine Letu...ROY (Le), Nicolas : né à Saint-Remy de Dieppe le 24 mars 1661...ROY (Le), Noël : frère du précédent, né en 1662...ROY, Olivier : né à Fontenay-sur-Orne (Orne) en 1636...ROY, Pierre, dit Roiroux : soldat, régiment du Berry, compagnie Villemonde, et menuisier ; né à Notre-Dame-de-Froide-Rue de Caen en 1734...ROY, Siméon, dit Audy... |year=1933 }}</ref> that immigrated to North America have been granted a coat of arms by the Governor General of Canada.<ref>{{cite web|title= Association des familles Roy d'Amérique |url= https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/713 |work=Governor General of Canada. Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada. |access-date= 5 August 2023 |quote= Grant of Arms, September 14, 1997, Vol. III, p. 195. Arms of the Association des familles Roy d'Amérique Blazon Azure upon a base barry-wavy Argent and Azure a 17th century French ship Or sails and flags Argent in chief a man's and a woman's hands clasped Argent the whole between two ears of wheat totaling forty-two grains Or; Crest Blazon A compass rose Argent; Motto Blazon JOIE • FRATERNITÉ • RESPECT, meaning "Joy • Brotherhood • Respect"; Background Canada Gazette Information The announcement of the letters patent was made on November 22, 1997 in Volume 131, page 3591 of the Canada Gazette. |year=1997 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Tristan Roy |url= https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/2443 |work= Governor General of Canada. Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada. |access-date= 12 August 2023 |quote= Mont Royal, Quebec Grant of Arms, with differences to Ariël Thériault-Roy and Lancelot Thériault-Roy August 15, 2013 Vol. VI, p. 254. The blue from the arms of the kings of France symbolizes Mr. Roy’s surname (“king” in English). The colour also appears on the flag of the Carignan-Salières Regiment, with which his ancestor, Antoine Roy, served upon arriving in New France in 1665. The ship and waves are taken from the arms of the Association des familles Roy d’Amérique. The compass rose is taken from the arms of the Association des familles Roy d’Amérique and symbolizes exploration and astronomy, two of Mr. Roy’s passions. The fleurs-de-lis, symbols of the kings of France, refer to his surname and French roots. |year= 2013 |archive-date= 12 August 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230812162419/https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/2443 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Plaque de Nicolas Leroy et Jeanne Lelièvre. Vue avant |url= https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=99532&type=bien |work= Gouvernement du Québec, Culture et Communications |access-date= 24 August 2023 |quote= Association des familles Roy d’Amérique... Texte de la plaque...Hommage à une famille pionnière...Nicolas Leroy et Jeanne Lelièvre arrivés en Nouvelle-France en 1661, de Dieppe, Normandie, établis en la seigneurie de La Durantaye en 1676, et dont plusieurs enfants ont vécu à Saint-Vallier...Dévoilement fait en l'an 2000, à la veille du 325e anniversaire de leur établissement sur la Rive sud. |year= 2000 |archive-date= 24 August 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230824053108/https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=99532&type=bien |url-status= live }}</ref>

== South Asia ==

In India and Bangladesh, Roy is an anglicized Bengali variant of the surname ''Rai'', meaning "king". Rai (title), is the historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent, used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states and as a family name.<ref>{{cite book |author= Sir Henry Yule, A.C. Burnell|title=Hobson-Jobson: Being a Glossary of Anglo-Indian Colloquial Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive |publisher= B.R. Publishing Corporation |year=1886|page=772|quote=ROY, s. A common mode of writing the title rāī (see RAJA) ; which sometimes occurs also as a family name, as in that of the famous Hindu Theist Rammohun Roy.}}</ref>

Before the British Raj, the English spelling of "Roy" did not exist in Bengali records because those records were primarily kept in Bengali, Persian script or Sanskrit-derived scripts. The transition occurred as the British transliterated local titles into English based on how they heard them pronounced.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bhabataran Datta |title=A linguistic study of personal names and surnames in Bengali |publisher= University of Calcutta |year=1981|page=149|quote=The British rule of less than two hundred years may not be considered fruitless even in the case of the personal nomenclature of Bengal. Anglomania, however, prevail both in the male and female names. Of course, some names are there by way of literary appreciation. Accordingly, there are some names which are given after the British personalities and some more are taken out of the literature.}}</ref> In the Bengali language, the Sanskrit root ''Raja'' or ''Rai'' is typically pronounced as the English "Roy".

The name is diverse and can be found among upper castes as well as among the scheduled castes.<ref>{{cite book |author=Shibani Roy, S.H.M. Rizvi|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Surnames |publisher= B.R. Publishing Corporation |year=2020|page=349|quote=Roy mainly found among Bengali speaking Rajbhar (Uttar Pradesh), Bhat (West Bengal), Malpatni (West Bengal), Kalal (Gujarat), Khandait (Orissa/West Bengal), Khangar (Uttar Ptadesh), Kurmi (Bihar).}}</ref>

== Scotland ==

The name Roy is also found in Scotland, an anglicisation from the Scottish Gaelic nickname ''ruadh'', meaning "red". The name predominantly comes second as a middle name.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language |url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snd00089421 |work=Scottish National Dictionary |access-date=26 March 2026 |quote=ROY. Now common as a Christian name in Lowland Scot. (Sc. a.1790 Sc. Mus. Museum II. 352) and, more recently, in Eng., but orig. a Gael. nickname, from ruadh, red-haired, coming second after a Christian name as John Roy Stewart (Sc. 1746 Mem. J. Murray (S.H.S.) 446), Donald Roy MacDonald (Sc. 1746 Lyon in Mourning (S.H.S.) II. 3), Daniel Roy Macpherson (Slk. 1818 Hogg B. of Bodsbeck xi.).}}</ref> A famous example of the name usage is that of Rob Roy MacGregor, who was a Scottish outlaw and folk hero.

== Given name == *Roy Acuff (1903–1992), American country music singer and fiddler *Roy Andersen (born 1955), Norwegian former long-distance runner *Roy Andersen (general) (born 1948), South African businessman and military officer *Roy Anderson (American football) (born 1980), American football coach *Roy M. Anderson (born 1947), British scientific adviser *Roy Andersson (born 1943), Swedish film director *Roy Andersson (footballer) (born 1949), footballer from Sweden *Roy Chapman Andrews (1884–1960), American naturalist and explorer *Roy Ascott (born 1934), British artist and theorist *Roy Ayers (1940–2025), American vibraphonist, record producer and composer *Roy E. Ayers (1882–1955), American politician, governor of Montana *Roy Black (singer) (1943–1991), German singer and actor *Roy Blount Jr. (born 1941), American writer, speaker, reporter and humorist *Roy Blunt (born 1950), United States Senator and former congressman *Roy Bucher (1895–1980), British-Indian soldier and Commander-in-Chief *Roy C (1939–2020), American soul and R&B singer and songwriter *Roy Campanella (1921–1993), American Hall of Fame baseball catcher *Roy Campanella II (born 1948), television director and producer, son of the above *Roy Castle (1932–1994), English dancer, singer, musician, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician *Roy Cimatu (born 1946), Filipino government administrator and retired army general *Roy Clark (1933–2018), American country music singer and musician *Roy Clarke (born 1930), English comedy writer *Roy Choi (born 1970), Korean-American chef *Roy Christian (1943–2024), New Zealand rugby league footballer *Roy Cohn (1927–1986), American lawyer best known as Senator Joseph McCarthy's counsel from 1953 to 1954 *Roy Asberry Cooper Jr. (1927–2014), American lawyer *Roy Cooper (born 1957), American politician and governor of North Carolina (2017–2025) *Roy Cooper (rodeo cowboy) (1955–2025), American rodeo cowboy *Roy Crossley (1923–2003), English footballer *Roy Degoregore (1922–1996), Nauruan politician *Roy DeMeo (1940–1983), Italian-American mobster *Roy de Silva (1937–2018), Sri Lankan Sinhala actor and director *Roy E. Disney (1930–2009), American businessman *Roy O. Disney (1893–1971), American businessman *Roy Dobbin (1873–1939), founding member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists *Roy Doron (born 1990), Israeli musician, singer, composer, and music producer *Roy Drusky (1930–2004), American country music singer and songwriter *Roy Face (born 1928), often referred to as "Elroy Face", American baseball relief pitcher *Roy Firestone (born 1953), American sports talk show host *Roy Foster (baseball) (1945–2008), American baseball player *Roy Gagnon (1913–2000), American football player *Roy Givens (1929–2019), American politician *Roy J. Glauber (1925–2018), American physicist and 2005 Nobel prize winner *Roy M. Goodman (1930–2014), New York state senator *Roy Halladay (1977–2017), American baseball pitcher *Roy Halliday (1923–2007), British vice-admiral * Roy Halston Frowick (1932–1990), better known as Halston, clothing designer *Roy Hamilton (1929–1969), American singer *Roy Hamilton (basketball) (born 1957), American basketball player and sports television producer *Roy Hargrove (1969–2018), American jazz trumpeter *Roy Harper (disambiguation) *Roy Harris (disambiguation) *Roy Harrison (born 1939), Irish former cricketer *Roy M. Harrison (born 1948), environmental chemist *Roy Hartsfield (1925–2011), American Major League Baseball player and manager *Roy Hattersley (born 1932), British politician, author and journalist *Roy Haynes (1925–2024), American jazz drummer *Roy Head (1941–2020), American country music, rockabilly, and R&B singer *Roy Hibbert (born 1986), Jamaican-American retired basketball player *Roy Hodgson (born 1947), English former football player and current manager * Roy Horn (born Uwe Ludwig Horn, 1944–2020), half of the Las Vegas show team Siegfried & Roy *Roy Howell (born 1953), American former Major League baseball player *Roy Jackson (1876-1944), American football player and coach *Roy Lee Jackson (born 1954), American Major League Baseball pitcher *Roy Jacobsen (1954–2025), Norwegian writer *Roy Douglas Jayetileke, Sri Lankan Sinhala army officer *Roy Jenkins (1920–2003), Welsh politician and author *Roy Johnson (pitcher) (1895–1986), baseball pitcher, manager and longtime coach *Roy Jones Jr. (born 1969), professional boxer *Roy Keane (born 1971), Irish former football player and current manager *Roy Khan (born 1970), former singer of power metal band Kamelot *Roy Kim (born 1993), born Kim Sang-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter *Roy Kinnear (1934–1988), English actor *Roy Ladson Jr. (1983-), Lead singer of Roy & Revelation *Roy Lechthaler (1908–1980), American football player *Roy Li (born 1965), Singaporean musician *Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), American pop artist *Roy Lopez (American football) (born 1997), American football player *Roy Makaay (born 1975), Dutch footballer and current manager *Roy Marika (c. 1925 – 1993), Aboriginal Australian artist and Indigenous rights activist *Roy Marten (born Roy Wicaksono Abdul, 1952) Indonesian actor *Roy Masters (commentator) (1928–2021), American talk radio personality *Roy Mbaeteka (born 2000), Nigerian-American football player *Roy McMillan (1929–1997), American baseball player *Roy Medvedev (1925–2026), Russian historian and political writer *Roy Moore (born 1947), American politician and former state judge *Roy Morris ({{circa| 1930}} – 2011), British Scout Leader, recipient of the Silver Wolf Award *Roy Nachum (born 1979), Israeli contemporary artist *Roy Nelson (disambiguation), multiple people *Roy Niederhoffer (born 1966), American hedge fund manager and philanthropist *Roy Nissany (born 1994), Israeli racing driver *Roy Olmstead (1886–1966), American policeman, then bootlegger *Roy Orbison (1936–1988), American singer-songwriter *Roy Oxlade (1929–2014), English painter and writer on art *Roy Parmelee (1907–1981), American baseball player *Roy Earl Parrish (1888–1918), American politician *Roy Pinney (1911–2010), herpetologist, professional photographer, writer, spelunker, pilot and war correspondent *Roy Poels (born 1972), Dutch judoka *Roy Roebuck (1929–2023), British politician *Roy Rogers (1911–1998), American singing movie cowboy *Roy Rowland (1910-1995), American film director *Roy Rosselló (born 1970), member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo from 1983 to 1986 *Roy Scheider (1932–2008), film actor *Roy Schwartz Tichon (born 1992), social entrepreneur promoting public transportation on Saturday in Israel *Roy Schwitters (1944–2023), American physicist *Roy D. Shapiro, professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School *Roy Shepherd (1931–2008), British ice hockey player *Roy Shepherd (pianist) (1907–1986), Australian pianist and teacher *Roy Sievers (1926–2017), American baseball player *Roy Smalley Jr. (1926–2011), American baseball player, father of Roy Smalley III *Roy Smalley III (born 1952), American baseball player, son of Roy Smalley Jr. *Roy Staiger (born 1950), baseball player in the late 1970s *Roy Strong (born 1935), English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer *Roy Sullivan (1912–1983), American park ranger * Roy Suryo (born 1968), former Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs of Indonesia *Roy Thomas (pitcher) (born 1953), American baseball player *Roy Underhill (born 1950), host of the PBS series ''The Woodwright's Shop'' *Roy Wang, also known as Wang Yuan (born 2000), Chinese singer-songwriter, television host and actor *Roy Webb (1888–1982), gospel music pianist and speaker *Roy White (born 1943), American all-star baseball player *Roy Williams (basketball coach) (born 1950), American college basketball coach *Roy Williamson (1936–1990), Scottish folk singer *Roy Wilkins (1901–1981), civil rights activist *Roy Wood (born 1946), English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist *Roy Wood Jr. (born 1978), American comedian and humorist

== Surname == *Ajoy Roy (1935–2019), Bangladeshi physicist and human rights activist *Anupam Roy (born 1982), Indian singer and music director *Anuparna Roy (born 1994), Indian film director *Anuradha Roy (novelist) (born 1967), Indian Bengali novelist and journalist *Arun Roy (1968 or 1969–2025), Bangladeshi cinematographer *Aruna Roy (born 1946), Indian Tamil social activist *Arundhati Roy (born 1961), Indian Keralite novelist and political activist *Avik Roy, American political commentator *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 *Bravvion Roy (born 1996), American football player *Bryan Roy (born 1970), Dutch football (soccer) player and current manager *Bunker Roy (born 1945), Indian Bengali social activist *Claude Roy (physician) (1928–2015), Canadian physician *Claude Roy (poet) (1915–1997), French poet and essayist *Claude Roy (politician) (born 1952), Canadian politician *Conrad Roy (1995–2014), American marine salvage captain whose suicide resulted in the manslaughter conviction of his girlfriend *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 (footballer) (born 1967), French footballer *Eric Roy (politician) (born 1948), New Zealand politician *Fabien Roy (1928–2023), Canadian politician *Falguni Roy (1945–1981), Indian Bengali poet *Gabrielle Roy (1909–1983), Canadian author *Helen Roy (born 1969), British ecologist, entomologist and academic *Indra Lal Roy (1898–1918), Indian Bengali First World War flying ace *Jahor Roy (1919–1977), Indian Bengali actor and comedian *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 *Jaquelin Roy (born 2000), American football player *Jason Roy (born 1990), English cricketer *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 *Joshua Roy (born 2003), Canadian ice hockey player *Juthika Roy (1920–2014), Indian Bengali singer *Kalidas Roy (1889–1975), Indian Bengali poet *Kanu Roy (1912–1981), 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 *Lucinda Roy (born 1955), American-based British novelist, educator and poet *M. N. Roy (1887–1954), Indian Bengali philosopher and revolutionary *Mathieu Roy (ice hockey, born 1983) (born 1983), Canadian ice hockey player *Mathieu Roy (ice hockey, born 1986) (born 1986), Canadian ice hockey player *Matt Roy (born 1995), American ice hockey player *Mouni Roy (born 1985), Indian actress *Namba Roy (1910–1961), Jamaican novelist and artist *Nicolas Roy (born 1997), Canadian ice hockey player *Nicole Roy (1965–2025, Canadian professor of human nutrition in New Zealand *Nirmal Roy (born 1996), Pakistani singer *Nirupa Roy (1931–2004), Indian Gujarati actress *Patrick Roy (born 1965), Canadian ice hockey head coach and former goaltender *Peter Roy (1828–1881), American farmer and politician *Prafulla Roy (1934–2025), Indian writer *Prannoy Roy (born 1949), Indian Bengali journalist and media personality *Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849–1932), Indian Bengali educationist *Rachel Roy (born 1974), American fashion designer *Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833), Indian Bengali religious, social and educational reformer *Rahul Roy (born 1966), Indian film actor *Rohit Roy (born 1968), Indian actor *Ronit Roy (born 1965), Indian actor *Rudolf Roy (1920–1944), German tank commander *Sarat Chandra Roy (1871–1942), Indian Bengali anthropologist *Satabdi Roy (born 1968), Indian Bengali actress *Serge Roy (footballer) (1932–2025), French footballer *Serge Roy (ice hockey) (born 1962), Canadian ice hockey player *Shasanka Mohan Roy (born 1941), Indian quantum physicist *Shehzad Roy (born 1979), Pakistani pop singer and social worker *Subrata Roy (1948–2023), 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 *Zachary Roy (born 2003), Canadian soccer player

== Fictional characters == {{incomplete list|date=January 2023}}

*Esme & Roy's eponymous monster *Kiriti Roy, a fictional detective created by Nihar Ranjan Gupta * Philly Boy Roy, from the radio show and podcast ''The Best Show with Tom Scharpling'' *Roy, from the video game ''Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade'' * Roy, from the British sketch show ''Little Britain'' * Roy, a minor character from the ''Peanuts'' comic strip * Roy Biggins, a major character from ''Wings'' * Roy Anderson, from ''The Office'' * Roy Batty, the leader of the renegade replicants in the film ''Blade Runner'' *Roy G. Bivolo, DC Comics supervillain known as Rainbow Raider * Roy Carson, from ''Final Destination 5'' * Roy Coffee, from ''Bonanza'' *Roy Cropper, from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'' * Roy Earle, from the game ''L.A. Noire'' * Roy Greenhilt, from the webcomic ''The Order of the Stick'' * Roy Gribbleston, Yellow Guy's father from ''Don't Hug Me I'm Scared'' *Roy Harper, a superhero in the DC Comics universe * Roy Hobbs, protagonist of the Bernard Malamud novel ''The Natural'' and ''The Natural'' (film) * Roy "Jawjack" Kelton, a character from the 1988 film ''14 Going on 30'' * Roy Kent, from the streaming television series ''Ted Lasso'' * Roy Koopa, one of the Koopalings from the ''Mario'' franchise * Roy Miller, protagonist from the 2010 film ''Green Zone'' * Roy Miller, protagonist from the 2010 film ''Knight and Day'' *Roy Mustang, from the manga ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' * Roy Neary, protagonist from ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' * Roy O'Brien, eponymous animated protagonist of ''Roy'' * Roy Race, from the comic strip ''Roy of the Rovers'' * Roy Rooster, in the comic strip ''U.S. Acres'' * Roy Trenneman, from the British sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' * The Roy family, from the series ''Succession'' * Roy Raskin, one of the main characters in ''The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder'' * Roy, one of the main characters in ''Pokémon Horizons: The Series'' * Roy, an anthropomorphic fire engine in the preschool TV series ''Robocar Poli'' * Roy O'Brien, from ''Roy'', ''Little Roy'' and ''The Roy Files''

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:Surnames of Norman origin Category:English-language surnames Category:French-language surnames Category:Given names derived from colors Category:Scottish masculine given names Category:English masculine given names Category:French masculine given names Category:Masculine given names Category:Surnames of Indian origin Category:Bengali Hindu surnames