Chaves
A surname usually linked to the Portuguese/Spanish place name Chaves, with some English bearers as a variant of Chave.
The #4,368 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,943 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In Iberian use, Chaves is most naturally a locational surname taken from the town of Chaves in northern Portugal. The place name is traditionally connected with Latin aquae Flaviae, referring to Roman “Flavian waters” or hot springs. In English records, Chaves may also reflect a plural or variant spelling related to Chave.
History
The Iberian surname is associated with the Portuguese town of Chaves and spread widely through Portugal and the Spanish-speaking world. The excerpted 19th-century source also notes English families with the related name Chave in Devon, suggesting some Chaves forms may arise from regional spelling variation rather than Iberian origin. Today the surname is especially familiar in Portuguese, Spanish, and Latino communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The town of Chaves was formerly known in Roman times as Aquae Flaviae, a name tied to its thermal waters.
From the historical record
“Dideiz, Idiaquez. Jacome, Jacope, Jaime, Jau- me. Xah, Xahe ó Xave, Xapiz , Xaviz, Xaves, Chaves. Desde Rosal á Cabrera se ha dado al pueblo de Chaves, por etimología, Flavias, dedu- ciécdola de las termas llamadas aqiiae Flaviae « En Cicerón se ve una mujer española llamada Sancha. »”
— Ensayo histórico etimológico filológico sobre los apellidos castellanos