Delroy
Of uncertain origin, possibly from the French Désirée meaning "desired".
Name Census estimates that about 1,017 living Americans carry the first name Delroy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delroy today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delroy births was 1992 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delroy. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 337,025 Americans
Peak year
1992
34 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,406
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Delroy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delroy from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 190 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delroy by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Delroy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delroys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, Minnesota, Florida recorded the most babies named Delroy, while Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delroy
The name Delroy has its origins in the English language, emerging in the late 16th century. It is a combination of two Old English words – "del," meaning "valley" or "dell," and "roy," derived from the Old French word "roi," meaning "king." This suggests that the name Delroy was likely bestowed upon those who resided in or were associated with a particular valley or dell, perhaps one ruled by a king or monarch.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delroy can be found in the baptismal records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, dating back to 1597. Here, the name "Delroy Smythe" appears, indicating its usage during the Elizabethan era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Delroy. One such figure was Delroy Hudson (1905-1981), a Jamaican-born British track and field athlete who competed in the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the latter games.
Another prominent Delroy was Sir Delroy Lindo (1921-2010), a Jamaican diplomat and politician who served as the Governor-General of Jamaica from 1997 to 2009. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 for his contributions to public service.
In the realm of literature, Delroy Nenny (1876-1945) was a British poet and author known for his works that celebrated rural life and the natural world. His most famous collection, "Songs of the Countryside," was published in 1912.
The name Delroy also found its way into the world of entertainment. Delroy Lindo (born 1952) is an acclaimed American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Da 5 Bloods. He has been nominated for several prestigious awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Independent Spirit Award.
Lastly, Delroy Wilson (1948-1995) was a renowned Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter who rose to prominence in the late 1960s and 1970s. His hit songs, such as "Better Must Come," "Cool Operator," and "I'm Still Waiting," solidified his place in the history of Jamaican music.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Delroy
People
Delroy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delroy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Delroy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delroy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,017 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delroy going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 337,025 US residents.
Is Delroy a common name?
We classify Delroy as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,417 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delroy most popular?
The single biggest year for Delroy was 1992, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delroy is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Delroy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delroy in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.