| Beau | Roy | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Handsome | king |
| Origin | French | french |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | BOH | roy |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| First appeared | 1932 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (5,165) | 1947 (7,560) |
| In 2025 | 5,165 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Beau | Roy |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 25,086 | 3,166 |
| 2010s | 17,768 | 5,017 |
| 2000s | 6,134 | 5,581 |
| 1990s | 5,617 | 8,601 |
| 1980s | 7,174 | 14,308 |
| 1970s | 3,145 | 22,353 |
| 1960s | 472 | 40,047 |
| 1950s | 123 | 61,847 |
| 1940s | 68 | 65,648 |
| 1930s | 5 | 51,495 |
| 1920s | 0 | 63,259 |
| 1910s | 0 | 40,340 |
| 1900s | 0 | 10,632 |
| 1890s | 0 | 9,779 |
| 1880s | 0 | 6,565 |
Beau comes directly from the French for “handsome” or “beautiful.”
From Old French 'roy/roi', meaning 'king'. Note a second, separate origin: the Scottish Gaelic nickname 'ruadh' ('red', of hair/complexion) — so Roy can mean 'king' (French) or 'red' (Gaelic) depending on the bearer.
Beau is more popular than Roy today: about 5,165 US babies were given the name Beau in 2025, compared with 0 named Roy.
Beau means Handsome (French origin), while Roy means king (french origin).
In US records, Beau first appears in 1932 and Roy in 0, so Roy has the longer recorded history.