Roya Surname History

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancestors of the first families to use the name Roya lived in ancient Scotland in the kingdom of Dalriada. The name was then used as a nickname for a person with red hair. Roya is a nickname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. The surname Roya comes from the Gaelic word ruadh, which means red. Thus, the original bearers of the surname Roya would have been known for their red hair, or possibly, a ruddy complexion.

Early Origins of the Roya family

The surname Roya was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they held a family seat from very early times, where some say before the Millenium.

Early History of the Roya family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Roya research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1488, 1527, 1550 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Roya History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roya Spelling Variations

In various documents Roya has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. Roy, Roys, Roye, Roi, McRoy and others.

Early Notables of the Roya family

Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Roya Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Roya family to Ireland

Some of the Roya family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roya migration to the United States +

Many who arrived from Scotland settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would go on to become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many settlers who remained loyal to England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Their descendants later began to recover the lost Scottish heritage through events such as the highland games that dot North America in the summer months. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Roya family emigrate to North America:

Roya Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ant Roya, aged 32, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1830 1

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)