Roy
Roy was given to 570 boys in 2025, #525 among boys’ names; 411,331 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 164,000 Americans named Roy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (40% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 50 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Roy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Roy mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Roy is “a male given name from Scottish Gaelic.”
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 (raẏ, surname). Doublet of Rai, rex, and rajah.
/ˈɹoɪ̯/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Roy?
#525 among boys’ names, 2025
Roy rose from #533 in 2015 to #525 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.28 to 0.33 per 1,000.
7,592 babies in 1947, the peak
Roy peaked in 1947, when 7,592 babies were given it (7,560 boys, #48 among boys’ names). The 570 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 570 | #525 | 0.33 |
| 2024 | 553 | #541 | 0.32 |
| 2023 | 526 | #556 | 0.31 |
| 2022 | 509 | #576 | 0.29 |
| 2021 | 521 | #551 | 0.30 |
| 2020 | 487 | #572 | 0.28 |
| 2019 | 494 | #565 | 0.28 |
| 2018 | 520 | #541 | 0.29 |
| 2017 | 531 | #533 | 0.29 |
| 2016 | 539 | #540 | 0.28 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 534 | #533 | 0.28 |
| 2014 | 525 | #531 | 0.27 |
| 2013 | 508 | #524 | 0.27 |
| 2012 | 466 | #559 | 0.25 |
| 2011 | 443 | #566 | 0.23 |
| 2010 | 457 | #555 | 0.24 |
| 2009 | 473 | #557 | 0.24 |
| 2008 | 552 | #496 | 0.27 |
| 2007 | 536 | #495 | 0.26 |
| 2006 | 599 | #451 | 0.29 |
| 2005 | 531 | #471 | 0.27 |
| 2004 | 543 | #467 | 0.27 |
| 2003 | 570 | #440 | 0.29 |
| 2002 | 566 | #439 | 0.29 |
| 2001 | 573 | #428 | 0.29 |
| 2000 | 638 | #400 | 0.32 |
| 1999 | 638 | #393 | 0.33 |
| 1998 | 655 | #381 | 0.34 |
| 1997 | 749 | #344 | 0.40 |
| 1996 | 719 | #345 | 0.38 |
| 1995 | 732 | #336 | 0.38 |
| 1994 | 863 | #306 | 0.45 |
| 1993 | 897 | #306 | 0.46 |
| 1992 | 992 | #285 | 0.50 |
| 1991 | 1,129 | #247 | 0.56 |
| 1990 | 1,227 | #235 | 0.60 |
| 1989 | 1,258 | #217 | 0.63 |
| 1988 | 1,164 | #220 | 0.61 |
| 1987 | 1,263 | #203 | 0.68 |
| 1986 | 1,283 | #197 | 0.70 |
| 1985 | 1,379 | #186 | 0.75 |
| 1984 | 1,383 | #182 | 0.77 |
| 1983 | 1,456 | #176 | 0.81 |
| 1982 | 1,617 | #167 | 0.89 |
| 1981 | 1,726 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1980 | 1,779 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1979 | 1,753 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1978 | 1,795 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1977 | 1,913 | #141 | 1.2 |
| 1976 | 1,871 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1975 | 2,121 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1974 | 2,187 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1973 | 2,236 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1972 | 2,476 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1971 | 2,960 | #111 | 1.7 |
| 1970 | 3,041 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1969 | 3,001 | #105 | 1.7 |
| 1968 | 3,177 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1967 | 3,276 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1966 | 3,522 | #94 | 2.0 |
| 1965 | 3,785 | #95 | 2.0 |
| 1964 | 4,149 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1963 | 4,440 | #89 | 2.2 |
| 1962 | 4,476 | #90 | 2.2 |
| 1961 | 4,966 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1960 | 5,255 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1959 | 5,183 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1958 | 5,525 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1957 | 6,063 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1956 | 6,133 | #62 | 2.9 |
| 1955 | 6,331 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1954 | 6,513 | #56 | 3.2 |
| 1953 | 6,655 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1952 | 6,524 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1951 | 6,466 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1950 | 6,454 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1949 | 6,622 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1948 | 7,067 | #49 | 4.0 |
| 1947 | 7,560 | #48 | 4.1 |
| 1946 | 6,925 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 1945 | 6,183 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1944 | 6,533 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1943 | 6,932 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1942 | 6,311 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 1941 | 5,950 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1940 | 5,565 | #42 | 4.8 |
| 1939 | 5,156 | #42 | 4.7 |
| 1938 | 5,041 | #41 | 4.5 |
| 1937 | 4,890 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1936 | 4,815 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 1935 | 4,939 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1934 | 5,104 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1933 | 4,906 | #39 | 4.9 |
| 1932 | 5,238 | #38 | 5.0 |
| 1931 | 5,489 | #35 | 5.3 |
| 1930 | 5,917 | #33 | 5.4 |
| 1929 | 5,812 | #35 | 5.4 |
| 1928 | 6,229 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1927 | 6,387 | #34 | 5.7 |
| 1926 | 6,224 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1925 | 6,376 | #32 | 5.7 |
| 1924 | 6,557 | #31 | 5.8 |
| 1923 | 6,316 | #32 | 5.8 |
| 1922 | 6,458 | #32 | 5.9 |
| 1921 | 6,545 | #32 | 5.9 |
| 1920 | 6,355 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1919 | 5,970 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1918 | 6,211 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1917 | 5,586 | #33 | 6.0 |
| 1916 | 5,327 | #33 | 6.0 |
| 1915 | 5,052 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1914 | 3,852 | #32 | 5.9 |
| 1913 | 3,090 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1912 | 2,591 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1911 | 1,394 | #31 | 6.2 |
| 1910 | 1,267 | #29 | 6.5 |
| 1909 | 1,135 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1908 | 1,097 | #26 | 7.1 |
| 1907 | 1,128 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1906 | 1,024 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1905 | 1,016 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1904 | 1,123 | #21 | 8.8 |
| 1903 | 975 | #22 | 8.2 |
| 1902 | 1,002 | #22 | 8.2 |
| 1901 | 917 | #20 | 8.6 |
| 1900 | 1,215 | #21 | 8.1 |
| 1899 | 912 | #20 | 8.6 |
| 1898 | 1,049 | #20 | 8.6 |
| 1897 | 999 | #19 | 8.9 |
| 1896 | 1,027 | #19 | 8.6 |
| 1895 | 1,028 | #19 | 8.8 |
| 1894 | 1,018 | #18 | 8.8 |
| 1893 | 919 | #18 | 8.2 |
| 1892 | 1,048 | #18 | 8.6 |
| 1891 | 838 | #18 | 8.3 |
| 1890 | 941 | #18 | 8.5 |
| 1889 | 888 | #18 | 8.0 |
| 1888 | 856 | #20 | 7.1 |
| 1887 | 726 | #20 | 7.2 |
| 1886 | 767 | #20 | 6.9 |
| 1885 | 691 | #24 | 6.4 |
| 1884 | 680 | #26 | 5.9 |
| 1883 | 556 | #30 | 5.3 |
| 1882 | 521 | #33 | 4.6 |
| 1881 | 440 | #34 | 4.4 |
| 1880 | 440 | #37 | 4.0 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Roy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Roy has been given almost only to boys: 2,693 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Roy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Roy, and how old are they?
164,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 40% of the 411,331 Americans ever recorded as Roy. The median Roy alive today is 65 years old; half are between 50 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 176,166 people named Roy (391 women and girls, 175,775 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 190,565 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 20,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 73,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 36,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 18,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 8,830 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,780 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Roy born?
The states with the most babies named Roy are Texas, California and New York, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 36,880 | #492 | 1.6× |
| California | 22,655 | #479 | 0.9× |
| New York | 17,536 | #477 | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 17,049 | #920 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 16,011 | #761 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 15,672 | #454 | 0.6× |
| Tennessee | 15,294 | #629 | 1.7× |
| Georgia | 15,082 | #536 | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 14,924 | #620 | 0.8× |
| Kentucky | 14,001 | #796 | 1.6× |
Where Roy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Roy is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Roy with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 462,940 babies since 1880, Roy is the most given (89% of them). In 2025 it was given to 570 of their 3,757 babies (15%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Roy
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Roy and names like it
- Compare Roy and RoryBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sRoy peaked in 1947.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Roy since 1910.
- Scottish Gaelic namesWiktionary’s origin for Roy: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Roy.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Roy alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.