It’s the name of a street near my house. I doubt they’d name it after the actor, so my guess is that it’s just his pseudonym derived from the same place as the street’s name. Any ideas?
Thanks. 
As far as I know, the only place called Chevy Chase is a suburb of Washington, D.C., near Bethesda. I knew lots of kids from there when I was growing up, and never thought it was strange that an actor took his name from the location as well.
It’s also a
town in Maryland
It’s also a neighborhood here in Lexington, for some reason. I’ve never gotten a good answer as to why.
Some more info:
The plot thickens! :eek:
A MapQuest map of the street in question. I live on 179th, a little southwest of there.
Thanks.
From the Internet Movie Database: Born Cornelius Crane Chase, he changed his name to Chevy Chase
Since he was born in Woodstock, NY, I suspect that his selection of “Chevy” was simply based on euphony.
The Ballad of Chevy Chase dates from 1624, and is thought to be based on English-Scottish border warfare in the 1400s.
The various cities in the U.S. that are named Chevy Chase most likely take their names from the ballad celebrating the Scots/English border wars of the 14th century. (In this case, Chevy Chase is not a place, but an event in which a battle was fought because of a hunt (chase) in the Cheviot hills. (The ballad is historically inaccurate (as many are) and the Scots call their version of the battle (and the ballad that celebrates it) the Battle of Otterburn.)
Chevy Chase once claimed he put a map up on the wall, closed his eyes, and walked up to it pointing to whatever town fate chose. Supposedly, it was Chevy Chase, MD. Good thing it wasn’t Accident, MD or Boring, MD! 
- Jinx
Given that his real last name was Chase, that would have been too much of a coincidence to really be true.
From what I have heard, it is a very well-to-do community.
At one point I believe it had the highest per capita income in the United States.
I’ve never known how to pronounce this name. Is it…
“Shevvy Tchase”?
“Tchevvy Tchase”?
“Shevvy Shace”?
Something else?
The “Chevy” is pronounced with a “ch” sound, not the “sh” of the brand of car. “Chase” is pronounced like “chase.”
Thanks, Colibri! I wondered whether that was the pronounciation, but it seemed unnecesarily confusing.
Paul Shaffer claimed during the Friars Club roast of Cornelius last year that the town of Chevy Chase, MD was changing its name to Not Funny, MD.
It actually sounded almost clever when Mr. Shaffer said it. Honest.
Isn’t there also a really big bank (or is it an investment firm?) named Chevy Chase? I always wondered about that.
I was sure he didn’t start his own firm like Wu-Tang Financial .
The “Crane” comes from his mom’s family, the wealthy plumbing-fixture manufacturers.
Men in particular often stare at this name, as there’s little else to read while you’re standing at the urinal.
You’re probably thinking of Chase Manhattan Bank, known under a few other names during its corporate history. Currently Chase Financial Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase (Chase merged with JPMorgan in 2000). It was named for Salmon P. Chase, 19th century Secretary of the Treasury, and possessor of a funny name in his own right. He appeared on the $10,000 bill.
There’s also Chevy Chase Bank.