Chaney Family History

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any one of several places in Normandy, Picardy, or Artois (France) named (Le) Quesnay or Quesnoy or elsewhere in northern France named (Le or La) Chesnay or Chesnoy. The placenames all derive from Old French chesnai or its Normanno-Picard equivalent quesnai ‘oak grove’ (medieval Latin casnetum).

French: variant of Chanet, a habitational name from any of various places called Chanet or Le Chanet, from Latin canna ‘reed’ + the suffix -etum denoting an inhabitant.