their midriffs. In the 2000s, many neologisms derived from "chav" were coined, including "Chavsville" (an epithet for Romford, and later Bridgend), "chavette" (a female chav) and "chavvy" (characteristic of a chav).

Several folk etymologies for the word have developed. Many are abbreviations, most commonly for "council house and violent". It is also often connected with the towns of Chatham