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

Chaires, 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 Chaires surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chaires in America

Chaires is the 16481st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chaires surname appeared 1,743 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 Chaires.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chaires 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.

The history of the last name Chaires

The surname Chaires originates from Spain, tracing its roots back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "caire," which means "slope" or "hillside," suggesting that the name may have been associated with individuals who lived in hilly or sloping areas.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Chaires can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century manuscript documenting the hunting expeditions of King Alfonso XI of Castile. This text mentions a locality called "Chaires," which may have been the place of origin for individuals bearing this surname.

During the 15th century, the name appears in various historical records, such as the Archivo General de Indias, which contains documents related to the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Notable individuals with the surname Chaires from this period include Juan de Chaires, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Chaires surname became more widespread across Spain and its colonies. One notable figure was Pedro de Chaires, a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Chaires surname found its way to various regions, including the Americas and the Philippines. In the 18th century, a prominent individual named Miguel de Chaires served as a Spanish military officer and governor of the province of Nueva Extremadura (present-day Coahuila, Mexico) between 1722 and 1726.

Another notable individual with the Chaires surname was Manuel de Chaires, a Spanish-born soldier and explorer who lived in the late 18th century. He played a significant role in the exploration and mapping of the American Southwest, particularly in the present-day states of Texas and New Mexico.

Throughout the 19th century, the Chaires surname continued to be present in various parts of the Spanish-speaking world. One example is José María Chaires, a Mexican politician and military leader who fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and later served as governor of the state of Zacatecas from 1868 to 1869.

These examples illustrate the rich history and widespread distribution of the Chaires surname, which has its roots in the Spanish language and culture, with connections to exploration, conquest, and governance in various regions of the world over several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chaires

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

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 Chaires was:

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 Chaires has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Chaires was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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