C19: variant of chevy, probably from Chevy Chase, title of a Scottish border ballad
Word Origin and History for chevy
Chevy
n.
by 1938, popular form of Chevrolet, U.S. automobile brand, which was founded by Louis Chevrolet and William Durant in 1911; acquired by General Motors in 1917.
[1821+; perhaps fr Chevy Chase, site of a skirmish between the English and the Scots, which came to mean ''a running pursuit'' in Yorkshire dialect; chivy came to mean ''pursue'']