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

Chant, 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 Chant surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chant in America

Chant is the 33856th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chant surname appeared 672 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Chant.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chant 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 Chant

The surname Chant originated in France and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "chant," which means "song" or "chant." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who was a singer or a chanter, possibly in a church or monastery.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Chant can be found in medieval French records and documents from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a "Robert le Chant" in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a collection of charters from the Abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres, France, dating back to around 1200.

In England, the name Chant appears to have been introduced by French immigrants or Norman settlers after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not include any individuals with the surname Chant, suggesting that the name may have arrived later.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name Chant in England was John Chant, who was born in Somerset in the late 13th century. Records show that he held land in the village of Chantry, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of his surname.

Another notable individual with the surname Chant was Sir Francis Chant (1567-1644), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Somerset during the reign of King James I. He was known for his involvement in local politics and his role in the English Civil War.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Chant was also found in various parts of France, particularly in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou. One example is Jean Chant, a French composer and musician who lived in the late 16th century and was known for his contributions to the development of early Baroque music.

In the 18th century, the name Chant gained prominence in the United States with the arrival of French and English immigrants. One notable American bearing the surname was Rufus Chant (1774-1856), a landowner and politician from New York who served as a member of the New York State Assembly and the United States House of Representatives.

Other individuals with the surname Chant who have left their mark on history include Sir Thomas Chant (1815-1892), a British lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, and Sir George Chant (1861-1940), a British engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early aircraft design.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chant

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!