Chaney
A mostly English and French surname that often began as a locational name, especially a Norman place-name.
The #1,059 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,299 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Chaney is generally treated as a variant of Cheney, a surname that came from a Norman place-name. The usual explanation traces it to Old French words for a place planted with ashes or other trees, especially forms related to French chenai/chesnai, meaning a grove of oaks or a place of oak trees. Some historical works also note a related Norman form behind the spelling Chaney.
History
In medieval England the name appears in records alongside Cheney and other spelling variants, especially in eastern and southern counties. Over time the spelling Chaney became a recognized English family name in its own right, though it often reflects the same Norman surname tradition as Cheney. The form is also found in North America, where it has remained fairly common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers often grouped Chaney with other Norman place-derived names ending in -ney, which is why it is sometimes discussed under Cheney rather than as a completely separate surname.
From the historical record
“Cheaey, Cheyney, Choyne, Chaney, Cluiny, — Local, ' de Quesnay'(t). in the canton of Montmarlin, department of La Mauche, Normandy (Lower), Wilriam de Cheyney, co. Norf, a Hen.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances