Boy · Scottish Gaelic · Christian
Roy
RoySay it ROY
- Meaning today
- King
- Original meaning
- "red, ruddy (Gaelic ruadh)" Alexander MacBain, s.v. ruadh
- Say it
- ROY
- Other spellings
- Roi
Roy
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Roy meaning
Roy is a Christian boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin.
Meaning today
King
Original Scottish Gaelic meaning
"red, ruddy (Gaelic ruadh)"
Source: Alexander MacBain, An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (1896; 1911 ed.), s.v. ruadh · entry ruadh · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Roy began in Scotland as a nickname from Gaelic ruadh, which MacBain's etymological dictionary defines as 'red, ruddy', a cousin of Latin rufus and ruber. It described a red-haired man, as in the outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, 'Red Robert'. Most name lists today give Roy as 'king'. That sense belongs to a different word, Old French roi, which English once borrowed as roy, 'a king', so the popular meaning is a later association rather than the name's origin. In India Roy is a first name in Christian families; it is also a Bengali surname with an unrelated history.
References: MacBain, Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, ruadh (Wikisource) · Webster's 1913, Roy · Wikipedia, Rob Roy MacGregor
Famous namesakes
- Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish folk hero
Popularity abroad
- #525 United States, boys 2025 (up 16 from 541 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #728 England and Wales, boys 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Roy · Roi