boy's name
Leroy
LEE-roy
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 203,547
the United States
#884
2025 births
Leroy is a boy's name that is simply the French for the king, taken as one word. Our data marks it reviving, and it now ranks 884th in the United States after peaking a century ago in 1924.
- Leroy is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 1924, when 3,948 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 12,325 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Leroy over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,574 |
| 1890s | 2,544 |
| 1900s | 4,305 |
| 1910s | 21,388 |
| 1920s | 38,114 |
| 1930s | 36,479 |
| 1940s | 34,049 |
| 1950s | 24,774 |
| 1960s | 15,330 |
| 1970s | 8,469 |
| 1980s | 5,650 |
| 1990s | 3,559 |
| 2000s | 2,159 |
| 2010s | 2,173 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,596 |
What Leroy means
Leroy means the king. It is the French definite article joined to the noun, so the name is a title used whole rather than a word describing anyone.
Where Leroy comes from
Leroy is the French le roi, the king, run together — a Norman byname given to someone who played a king in a pageant, won a title at a festival, or behaved regally. It became a hereditary surname in England and Ireland and then, in nineteenth-century America, a given name. It belongs to a small group of names that are titles taken whole: Earl, Duke, King and Prince all did the same thing in the same period. Leroy became particularly common among African American families in the early twentieth century, which is where most of its American volume sits.
Leroy in use
Leroy peaked in the United States in 1924, when 3,948 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It now ranks 884th in the United States on 269 births, 912th in Ireland, 1550th in England and Wales on 17 and 5474th in France, across 203,547 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Its 1924 peak places it with Warren, Bertha and Juanita in the 1918 to 1926 band.
How popular is Leroy?
In 2025, Leroy was given to 269 babies in the United States, ranking #884 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Leroy is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Leroy is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Léroy | Léroy is a rare spelling of Leroy, written with an acute accent and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Leroy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Leroy also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Leroy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Leroy
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Leroy in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Elroy
Sibling names for Leroy
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Leroy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Leroy
What does the name Leroy mean?
The king — the French le roi, run together as one word.
Is Leroy related to Roy?
The roy element is the same French word. Roy also has a separate Gaelic source meaning red.
Are there other title names?
Earl, Duke, King and Prince all became American given names in the same period.
Is Leroy coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, at 884th in the United States.
How popular is the name Leroy?
In 2025, Leroy was given to 269 babies in the United States, ranking #884 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Leroy a girl's or a boy's name?
Leroy is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Leroy?
Leroy has 2 syllables.
When was Leroy most popular?
Leroy peaked in 1924, when 3,948 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Leroy?
Leroy is usually shortened to Roy and Lee.
Is Leroy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Leroy currently ranks #884 in the United States. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.