Roy or Roi is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origins.

France

In France, this family name originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who migrated to Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy. The derivation is from the Old French roy, roi, meaning "king", which was a byname used before the Norman Conquest and a personal name in the Middle Ages. Earliest references cite Guillaume de Roy (William of Roy), who was a knight of the Knights Templar and one of several knights and feudal lords (seigneur) of the Roy family in France. In Canada and in the United States, the descendants of the families of Roy, Le Roy that immigrated to North America have been granted a coat of arms by the Governor General of Canada.

England

After the Norman Conquest, the victorious Normans and their allies settled England and eventually formed the ruling class of nobles called Anglo-Normans. Roy, or Roi was a family name and also a title that was used by the kings of England & royal administration (such as Norroy and Viceroy). This is seen with patronymic surnames like Fitzroy, from Fi(t)z, meaning "son of" and Roy, "king", denoting the name bearer as a "son of the king". 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.

India

In India, Roy is an anglicized variant of the surname Rai, likewise meaning "king". Rai (title) is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states.

Scotland

The name Roy is also found in Scotland, an anglicisation from the Scottish Gaelic nickname ruadh, meaning "red".

Given name

Surname

Fictional characters