The Royce surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,115 people carried this name — #6,622 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,800 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (5,105).

See Royce on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Royce surname

A surname originating as a matronymic.

Derived from the Middle English given name Rose.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Royce» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Royse’.

His entry covers Royce and Royse.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 657 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Royce was found among the farmers of Leicestershire and Rutland: 26 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Leicestershire and Rutland 26

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

30 families named Royce, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 164 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 15
New Hampshire 6
North Carolina 4
Virginia 3
New York 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 260 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Royce in American newspapers,
1905–1906.

Newspaper page from The Lancaster Gazette carrying the name Royce
The Lancaster Gazette 1906-02-07
Newspaper page from The Lancaster Gazette carrying the name Royce
The Lancaster Gazette 1905-12-06
Newspaper page from The Lancaster Gazette carrying the name Royce
The Lancaster Gazette 1905-12-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,638 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Royce in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

9,820 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Royce. The most, 1,458, date from the 1930s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 2,698
New South Wales 2,508
Western Australia 2,033
Queensland 978
Tasmania 732
South Australia 730
ACT (Canberra) 87
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Royce.

Who carried it

People named Royce,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Stephen Royce
    Stephen Royce 1787–1868 · judge
  • Homer Elihu Royce
    Homer Elihu Royce 1820–1891 · judge
  • Josiah Royce
    Josiah Royce 1855–1916 · writer
  • Henry Royce
    Henry Royce 1863–1933 · engineer
  • Reuben Royce 1713–1790
  • Rachel Royce 1753–1802

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Royce,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States538 records

538 records of the Royce name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 172
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 137
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 89
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 74
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 36
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 27
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Carl L. Royce

    Born 1918 in Nevada. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois; construction laborer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Girard Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record G. Monsor Royce

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of New York from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 40; clergyman. From London; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record John Royce

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1946, died 2001; buried at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 538 records for Royce in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia117 records

117 records of the Royce name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 76
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 16
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 14
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Walter Royce

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Koh I Noor, aged 29; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George H. Royce

    Civil engineer of West Australia, Victoria; died 1927.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record John Royce

    Left Launceston in 1853 aboard the Clarence, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 117 records for Royce in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom12 records

12 records of the Royce name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 7
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ann Royce

    Buried in 1823 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 50.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Royce

    Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Francis Royce

    Buried in 1827 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 21.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 12 records for Royce in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Royce name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Josiah Robert Royce

    Buried in 1943 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Edward Royce

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Pierson C. Royce

    Married 1863 in Hants, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Royce in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand5 records

5 records of the Royce name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Royce

    Died 1965, aged 71; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record C. E. Royce

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Harold Royce

    Died 1988, aged 65; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Royce in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Royce.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Royce is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Royce volume
Scroll to Top