Chace last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Chace is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Chace.

Meaning of Chace

An English occupational surname referring to a person who hunts or manages the hunting of game animals.

Chace, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Chace surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chace in America

Chace is the 14636th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chace surname appeared 2,033 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Chace.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chace to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 14636 14321 2.18%
Count 2,033 1,919 5.77%
Proportion per 100k 0.69 0.71 -2.86%

The history of the last name Chace

The surname CHACE is believed to have originated in England, arising in the medieval period between the 11th and 15th centuries. The name is derived from the Old English word "chace," which referred to a hunting ground or an enclosed area for hunting game.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property holdings in England completed in 1086 under the order of William the Conqueror. This record mentions a landowner named Richard de la Chace, likely referring to his association with a particular hunting ground or chase.

During the Middle Ages, the CHACE surname was predominantly found in the counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset in southwestern England. These areas were known for their extensive forests and hunting grounds, which may have contributed to the prevalence of the name in those regions.

The surname also has connections to various place names in England, such as Chase End in Staffordshire, Chase Terrace in Walsall, and Chase Valley in Hampshire. These place names reflect the original meaning of the word "chase" and may have influenced the development of the surname.

Notable individuals with the surname CHACE include:

  1. Richard CHACE (c. 1540 - 1611), an English Puritan who emigrated to America and became one of the founders of the Boston colony.
  2. Thomas CHACE (1627 - 1692), an English colonist and landowner in Rhode Island, considered one of the founders of the town of Warwick.
  3. Samuel CHACE (1683 - 1765), an American merchant and landowner from Massachusetts, who served as a deputy to the Massachusetts General Court.
  4. Elizabeth Buffum CHACE (1806 - 1899), an American activist and abolitionist, known for her work in the anti-slavery and women's rights movements.
  5. William Merritt CHACE (1851 - 1926), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island.

Throughout its history, the surname CHACE has maintained its connection to the concept of hunting grounds and enclosed areas, reflecting the origins of the name in medieval England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chace

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Chace.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Chace was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.47% 1,880
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.93% 19
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.18% 24
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.34% 7
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.33% 27
Hispanic Origin 3.74% 76

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Chace has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.47% 95.26% -2.97%
Black 0.93% 0.89% 4.40%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.18% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.34% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.33% 0.78% 52.13%
Hispanic 3.74% 2.61% 35.59%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Chace was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Chace, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Chace last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/chace-surname-popularity/.

"Chace last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/chace-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Chace last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/chace-surname-popularity/.

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