Chaves Family History

14-Day Free Trial

GET STARTED

Chaves Name Meaning

Portuguese: habitational name from a place in the province of Tras-os-Montes named Chaves, from Latin (aquis) Flaviis, ‘(at the) waters of Flavius’. The place was the site of sulfurous springs with supposedly health-giving properties, around which a settlement was founded in the 1st century ad by the Emperor Vespasian. Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from any of numerous places called Chaves, generally from the plural of chave ‘key’, from Latin clavis. Variant of Irish and English Chivers. Compare Chavers.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Chavis, Naves, Chavers, Cave, Cales, Hames, Caves, Chavous, Rhames

Ready to discover your family story?

Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.

NEW

Chaves Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Chaves name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Chaves. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

Explore the full experience here

  • Portugal

    22%

  • England & Wales

    16%

  • Spain

    15%

  • Native American—North, Central, South

    10%

  • France

    9%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

Order a DNA Kit Today

Chaves Family Origin

Where is the Chaves family from?

Mapbox
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map
You can see how Chaves families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Chaves family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Chaves families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 11 Chaves families living in Warwickshire. This was about 31% of all the recorded Chaves's in the UK. Warwickshire had the highest population of Chaves families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Chaves surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Chaves

Chaves Family Occupations

What did your Chaves ancestors do for a living?

In 1880, Farmer, Laborer and Keeping House were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Chaves. A less common occupation for the Chaves family was Farm Laborer. The most common Chaves occupation in the USA was Farmer. 34% of Chaves's were Farmers.

View Census data for Chaves | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    34%

  • Laborer

    30%

  • Keeping House

    8%

  • Farm Laborer

    3%

United States shown, England data unavailable

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Chaves ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Chaves Historical Records

What Chaves family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 39,000 census records available for the last name Chaves. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Chaves census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1891 UK census records for Chaves

Passenger List

There are 6,000 immigration records available for the last name Chaves. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Chaves immigration records

Draft Card

There are 3,000 military records available for the last name Chaves. For the veterans among your Chaves ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Chaves military records

You've only scratched the surface of Chaves family history.

Discover More

Chaves Life Expectancy

What is the average Chaves lifespan?

Between 1949 and 2004, in the United States, Chaves life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1953, and highest in 1991. The average life expectancy for Chaves in 1949 was 39, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Chaves

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Chaves ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Chaves Family Ancestors

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in your family tree

Famous ancestors img
Look up another name