There’s a city named Chevy Chase, Maryland. There are streets of that name in LA and Austin, TX. There’s a Chevy Chase country club in Washington state. I think there’s even a style of home called the Chevy Chase.
It goes without saying that these weren’t named after the horrendous actor of the same name (is it his real name?). “Chevy” is also, of course, a nickname for Chevrolet, but I suspect that “Chevy Chase” predates the car manufacturer and that it’s a coincidence. Unless there was a legendary car chase in Maryland or something.
From an incredibly long, tedious, and detailed history of Chevy Chase, Maryland…
Chevy Chase was one of the first planned suburban communities. It was created in 1890 by the Chevy Chase Land Company, which first purchased a 305-acre plot of land straddling the line between Maryland and D.C. The name, which was subsequently adopted for the entire new subdivision, can be traced to the larger tract of land called “Cheivy Chace” that was patented to Colonel Joseph Belt from Lord Baltimore on July 10, 1725. It has historic associations to a 1388 battle between Lord Percy of England and Earl Douglas of Scotland. At issue in this “chevauchee” (a Scottish word describing a border raid) were hunting grounds or a “chace” in the Cheviot Hills of Northumberland and Otterburn.
The country club in Washington State was named after the Chevy Chase Club, a country club which was founded by the Chevy Chase Land Company in 1890 to go along with their new development. The actor Chevy Chase took his name from Chevy Chase, MD as well.
The “Ch” in Chevy Chase is pronounced the same in “Chevy” as it is in “Chase” (unlike the car “Chevy”, which is pronounced “Shevy”.)
More than you ever wanted to know about the early history of Chevy Chase, MD:
BTW, his real name is Cornelius Crane Chase. And I’d hardly call him horrendous. He just hasn’t made some of the smarter career moves that his SNL alums have.
I don’t think anyone would argue that while Chevy Chase, the comedian, has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, his future is in the toilet. Literally.
According to an old issue of Spy magazine that I read just before passing out on the beach during spring break about nine years ago, Chase is the “heir to the throne” of a major toilet manufacturer. Can’t remember which one.
When SNL first debuted, the original cast was interviewed by various news programs. IIRC, A local D.C. reporter said something to the effect, “Chevy Chase, are you at all aware of the Maryland community of the same name?” Chevy looked sort of confused and just said he had never heard of it. The interviewer then went on to other topics.