The Chaffee surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,053 people carried this name — #5,729 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 5,788 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Chaffee surname

From Old French chauf (“bald”), perhaps through Norman.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chaffee» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

64 families named Chaffee, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 392 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Chaffee, Chafee, Chafey, Chaffe, Chaffey, Chaffy. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 25
Massachusetts 23
Vermont 13
Rhode Island 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 233 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Chaffee in American newspapers,
1900–1914.

Newspaper page from Daily Inter Mountain carrying the name Chaffee
Daily Inter Mountain 1901-04-26
Newspaper page from The Courier-journal carrying the name Chaffee
The Courier-journal 1900-08-05
Newspaper page from The Daily Ardmoreite carrying the name Chaffee
The Daily Ardmoreite 1914-11-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 113,230 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Chaffee in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1950s.

508 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chaffee. The most, 362, date from the 1950s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 221
Queensland 73
Western Australia 66
Victoria 60
South Australia 47
Tasmania 30
ACT (Canberra) 8

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chaffee.

Who carried it

People named Chaffee,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Calvin C. Chaffee
    Calvin C. Chaffee 1811–1896 · politician
  • Knowlton Sampson Chaffee
    Knowlton Sampson Chaffee 1814–1891 · politician
  • Jerome B. Chaffee
    Jerome B. Chaffee 1825–1886 · politician
  • Adna Chaffee
    Adna Chaffee 1842–1914 · military officer
  • Fannie Josephine Chaffee
    Fannie Josephine Chaffee 1857–1909
  • Mary Elizabeth Chaffee 1867–1940

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Chaffee,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States468 records

468 records of the Chaffee name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 202
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 100
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 71
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 67
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 21
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Floyd R. Chaffee

    Born 1919 in Michigan. Enlisted 1941 at Kalamazoo; driver from Kent County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Ada Twp Cemetery, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Van Chaffee

    Born 1946; from Garfield Heights, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died of illness 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Edward L. Chaffee

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Oregon from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 31; banker.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 468 records for Chaffee in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2 records

2 records of the Chaffee name in Australia Tasmanian Names Index
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Reginald Charles Chaffee

    Died 1913 in Pyengana, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elizabeth Chaffee

    Married 1808 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Chaffee name in Canada Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Joseph Chaffee

    Died 1951; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Chaffee name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Thomas Knowlton Chaffee

    Born 1914 in the United States; died 2001 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Chaffee.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Chaffee is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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