My husband descends from a Glenmoriston Grant line who settled after the American Revolution in Glengarry County, Ontario, Canada. The first son born in Canada (in 1799) was known as James Roy Grant and his eldest son, Alexander James Grant was called "Alex Jim Roy."
I've been looking at the history of the Grants of Glenmoriston and see that the designation Roy or Ruadh goes back to the 15th century (Ian Ruadh Grant/ John Roy Grant, Sheriff of Inverness), but no lineage is online through succeeding generations beyond his son Patrick Mac Ian Roy Grant who died in 1508, apparently leaving a son called Patrick Reoch.
What I'm wondering is whether the "Roy" designation could have continued down to the 18th century in descendants of this Patrick Reoch or as a way of identifying Grants who lived on this family's estate. Or is it simply a coincidental name?
