Chavez History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Portugal
Spain

The distinguished surname Chavez claims Chaves, in northern Portugal as their ancient homeland and source of their name. As a local surname, the place name and surname are derived from the Latin word "clavis," which means "keys."

Accordingly to ancient records, the family claim descent from Garcia Lopes de Chaves, who, with his brother Rui Lopes de Chaves, captured this town from the Moors in 1160, and so adopted its name as a surname. 1

While the name claims Portugal as it's origin, over the years so many of the family moved to Spain that today it proves difficult to distinguish the two origins.

Early Origins of the Chavez family

The surname Chavez was first found in northern Portugal where the oldest member of this family is Lourenco Pires de Chaves, perhaps a contemporary of D. Afonso III or his son. 1 Alvaro Lopes de Chaves was a knight of the Order of Santiago, and held the office of secretary to King Alfonso V in the 15th century. He was awarded arms for his service in 1476.

Early History of the Chavez family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chavez research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1476, 1614 and 1632 are included under the topic Early Chavez History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chavez Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Chávez, Chaves, Chavez and others.

Early Notables of the Chavez family

Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chavez Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chavez Ranking

In the United States, the name Chavez is the 194^th most popular surname with an estimated 129,324 people with that name. 2

Chavez migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Chavez Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Trinidad Chávez Aparicio, who introduced cacao and chocolate from Mexico to Spain in 1570

Chavez Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Nicholas Chavez, aged 34, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1825 3
Antonio Francisco De Chavez, who landed in New Spain in 1877 3
Crisastonis Chavez, aged 38, who immigrated to the United States from Luttinta, in 1893

Chavez Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Angel Lopez Chavez, aged 55, who settled in America from Havana, Cuba, in 1908
Angelicia Chavez, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States, in 1908
Antonio Lopez Chavez, aged 20, who landed in America, in 1909
Carlos Guillerno Chavez, aged 5, who landed in America, in 1909
Agustin Loera Chavez, aged 22, who settled in America from Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1915
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Chavez (post 1700) +

Gilbert Espinosa Chávez (1932-2020), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
César Chávez (1927-1993), American farm workers union leader
César Estrada Chavez (1927-1993), founder of the National Farm Workers Association, which became United Farm Workers and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Angélico Chávez (1910-1996), American Franciscan priest, historian, author, poet, and painter
Dionicio Chavez (1888-1962), American Democratic Party politician, Member of New Mexico State House of Representatives, 1922; U.S. Representative from New Mexico at-large, 1931-35; U.S. Senator from New Mexico, 1936-62 4
David Chavez Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Mexico, 1952 4
Daniel F. Chavez, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1988, 1996, 2008 (alternate) 4
Dan Chavez, American politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 79th District, 2002, 2004; Republican Candidate for Texas State Senate 29th District, 2010, 2012 4
Cindy M. Chavez, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2008 4
Carlos S. Chavez, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Palmdale, California, 1999 4
... (Another 42 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

De Faria, Antonio Machado. Armorial lusitano: genealogia e heráldica. Lisboa, 1961. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html