Leroy
Leroy was the 888th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 269 babies. Its best year was 1907, when it ranked 50th; the most babies were born in 1924 (3,922). Over the last ten years it has moved up 101 places. More babies were named Leroy in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning the king (French) · French
Say it LEE-roy /ˈliɹɔɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #888 boys, up 35 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 269boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19243,922 babies
- Total since 1880
- 202,163babies recorded
What does the name Leroy mean?
Leroy comes from the French surname Leroy (Le Roy), 'the king', as Wiktionary notes, originally a nickname for someone who acted like a king or played one in a pageant. It became a common American first name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Old French roi 'king' comes from Latin rex, regis.
le roi (French, “the king”)rēx (Latin, “king”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Elroy, Roy, Leroi.
See also: French names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leroy', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Nicknames for Leroy
The usual nicknames for Leroy are Roy and Lee. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Leroy in the last five years, 198 were named Roy, against 260 twenty years earlier.
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Leroys go by each one.
Leroy popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 1,182 since 1907.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #888 | 269 |
| 2020 | #923 | 242 |
| 2010 | #919 | 220 |
| 2000 | #698 | 252 |
| 1990 | #440 | 503 |
| 1980 | #293 | 699 |
| 1970 | #215 | 1,170 |
| 1960 | #172 | 1,868 |
| 1950 | #102 | 2,835 |
| 1940 | #66 | 3,311 |
| 1930 | #53 | 3,802 |
| 1920 | #56 | 3,549 |
| 1910 | #50 | 733 |
| 1900 | #65 | 419 |
| 1890 | #74 | 236 |
| 1880 | #108 | 124 |
How popular is Leroy, counting every spelling?
Leroy is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #802 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #888 for Leroy on its own. Together these spellings went to 301 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leroy | 269 | #888 | 1,354 |
| Leeroy | 32 | #3,562 | 145 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Leroy?
269 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Leroy (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Leroy born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 31 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Leroy.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Leroy?
About 69,300 people born in the US named Leroy are alive today, with a median age of 67; half are between 51 and 77. That makes Leroy a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Leroy by state
How common Leroy was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wisconsin (3.8×), Minnesota (3.7×), Iowa (3.6×), Pennsylvania (2.7×), Missouri (2.3×). In 18 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Leroy: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Leroy, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Leroy · Sibling names for Leroy
Questions about the name Leroy
What does Leroy mean?
Leroy means “the king (French)” (French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Leroy?
Leroy was the 888th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 269 babies. Its best year was 1907, when it ranked 50th; the most babies were born in 1924 (3,922). Over the last ten years it has moved up 101 places. More babies were named Leroy in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Leroy a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Leroy in the US.
Where is Leroy most popular?
In 2021–2025, Leroy was most common in Montana (0.74 per 1,000 boys), followed by Wisconsin and Minnesota.