Deroy

Deroy or De Roy is a given name and French surname of Norman origin.

Written interchangeably in records as: Roi, Roy, Le Roi, and Le Roy, the surname De Roy originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who settled in Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy. It derived from the Old French roy, roi (French pronunciation: [ʁwa]), meaning "king", or "of king" which was a byname used before the Norman Conquest and a personal name in the Middle Ages.

Originally, Roy may have been a regal name, either from "kingly" bearing, a position of authority, a tournament winner, or one who was in the service of the king. This reflects Norman adaptation of social or martial identifiers — a cultural inheritance from their Viking ancestry, eventually forming a family name that would be passed down.

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 and Switzerland. While born Guillaume Le Roy, the usage of de Roy ("of Roy") signified hereditary nobility. Specifically, this was a claimed connection to a lineage of knights and the lord of a fief recognized by the monarch, rather than a simple descriptive surname which was a legal requirement to be a knight of the Templars. Medieval court scribes consistently translated vernacular names into Latin. Guillaume de Roy is recorded as Guillelmus de Roy, Templar of the Diocese of Soissons, by the scribes during the Trials of the Knights Templar.

De Roy may also be a Dutch surname, being an Americanized or Flemish variant of De Rooij. Notable people with the name include: