Explore the Family Name Fitzroy

The meaning of Fitzroy

Irish: Anglo-Norman French patronymic from fi(t)z ‘son’ (see Fitz) + Roy ‘king, son of the king’. It is usually taken to imply that the original bearer was a bastard son of the king, though ‘son of Ruadh’ (a Gaelic nickname meaning ‘red’) is also a possible interpretation.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Fitzroy in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Fitzroy experienced a slight decrease in rank from 2000 to 2010 - moving from 71,808 to 74,826, a change of -4.2%. However, despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals carrying the surname increased by approximately 2% during the same period, growing from 253 to 258 people.

20002010Change
Rank#71,808#74,826-4.2%
Count2532581.98%
Proportion per 100k0.090.090%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Fitzroy

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Fitzroy also saw shifts between 2000 and 2010, as per data from the Decennial U.S. Census. Individuals identifying as white composed the majority of bearers of the name, though their proportion decreased by 6.72%, falling to 82.95% in 2010. Meanwhile, the number of those identifying as black grew by an impressive 41.77%, reaching 10.08% in 2010. There was also a notable increase in those identifying with two or more races, which grew by 17.68% to reach 2.33% in 2010. No Fitzroys identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year. The surname also appeared among individuals who identify as Hispanic for the first time in 2010.

20002010Change
White88.93%82.95%-6.72%
Black7.11%10.08%41.77%
Hispanic0%2.71%0%
Two or More Races1.98%2.33%17.68%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%