Desroys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• France

Etymology of Desroys

The name Desroys has a history dating as far back as the Middle Ages. It was a Bretonname for a person who acted the role of the king in local festivals, or who habitually put on regal airs. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old French word "rei", meaning king.

Early Origins of the Desroys family

Early History of the Desroys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Desroys research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Desroys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Desroys Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Desroys some of which are Roys, Roy, Roais, Roays, Roaiz, Roi, Rois, Le Roy, La Roy, Les Roys, Des Roys and many more.

Early Notables of the Desroys family

Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Desroys Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Desroys family

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Desroys surname were G. B. Roys settled in San Francisco in 1850; J. Roys settled in San Francisco in 1852; Robert Royse settled with his wife, Elizabeth, in Massachusetts in 1630.