What does the last name Chavez mean?

Chavez is a Spanish variant of Chaves which is a place name. The ancient city of Chaves was in Portugal but there are numerous other places with that name.

The first Chavez was therefore a man from Chaves.

The crest for the Chavez family is famously 5 keys in a sort of house-shaped picture. Chavez does come from Chaves which comes from the Word llaves, WHICH in Spanish means keys. The original man named Chaves was a key or lock smith.