Explore the Family Name Chaires

The meaning of Chaires

1. American shortened and altered form of La Chere or La Chaire or La Chair, altered forms of northern French Lachere, Lachaire, and Lachair, of unexplained etymology. In France only the variants with fused presumed definite article la are found as a surname. Compare Chairs and Cheairs. 2. Hispanic (Mexico): possibly a topographic name derived from Galician chaira ‘little valley or meadow’ or chairo ‘flat (way, terrain)’. Compare Chaides and Chairez. History: It was Jan de La Chere (or de La Chaire, de La Chair) from Valenciennes in northern France, whose surname was changed to Chaires when he came to North America in the middle of the 17th century. He settled in MD. His name is listed (as Jan de la Chair or John Chairs) in the (US) National Huguenot Society’s register of qualified Huguenot ancestors. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jorge, Jose, Raul, Agustin, Andres, Carlota, Elena, Ernesto, Faustino, Feliciano, Genaro, Glafiro.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.