# Chaves (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/chaves/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Galician.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Galician |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 8,137 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,368 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 37,943 people |
| Change since 2000 | +15% (7,055 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish Chaves, a city and castle in Portugal. Doublet of Chavez.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Chaves in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 40% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 55% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Chaves in Brazil, the United States, Argentina and Costa Rica.

## People named Chaves

- Rodrigo Chaves, 49th president of Costa Rica
- Michael Chaves, American film director
- Richard Chaves, American actor
- Gabby Chaves, American racing driver
- Aureliano Chaves, Brazilian politician (1929–2003)
- Paula Chaves, Argentine model, actress and presenter
- Waldemar Chaves de Araújo, Brazilian bishop
- Delfina Chaves, Argentinian actress
- Giovanna Chaves, Brazilian actress, singer and model
- Gabriel Pec, Brazilian footballer

## Similar surnames

Chavez, Chavis, Cuevas, Caves, Capps, Cobbs, Cobos, Coppock, Coppage, Capozzi, Capasso, Copas.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.