The Chaney surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 33,201 people carried this name — #1,059 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,880 people counted. That is up 2% from 32,433 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Chaney surname
Variant of Chesney.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Chaney» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 163 people named Chaney.
10 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 24 départements, most often Doubs.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
87 people named Chaney live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Fribourg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
Who carried it
People named Chaney,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Chaney 1790–1881 · judge -
George Leonard Chaney 1836–1922 · writer -
John C. Chaney 1853–1940 · lawyer -
Lon Chaney 1883–1930 · screenwriter -
Celestine Chaney d. 2022
-
William Henry Chaney 1821–1903 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Chaney.
- Chanay 124 · U.S. census
- Chance 14,256 · U.S. census
- Chancy 1,010 · U.S. census
- Chandler 79,186 · U.S. census
- Chane 204 · U.S. census
- Chanel 137 · U.S. census
- Chanez 289 · U.S. census
- Chang 81,939 · U.S. census
- Chanon 159 · U.S. census
- Chanson 108 · U.S. census
- Chantry 343 · U.S. census
- Chao 10,398 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Chaney 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.