No - not the comedian/actor

For those outside of the Washington DC area - Chevy Chase is NOT named after the actor. After watching an episode of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" I am no longer surprised when asked, "Is Chevy Chase named after that actor from the Vacation movies?"

Here is the quick and dirty on the name. Back in around 1890 a senator and his business partners started buying up parcels and tracks of land in northwest Washington, DC and planned on developing a streetcar suburb. One of the tracks of land was already named Chevy Chase so they used that name for the aggregated land. I guess that plot got its name from some 1300's battle between some English and Scottish royalty that where fighting over some hunting grounds - also called a 'chase.'

For the long and clean on it check out the Wikipedia entry on Chevy Chase, MD.