By 1670, while colonial Spain no longer figured as an active presence, Spanish recruits and their descendents did. It is also very likely that in settling in the mountains of western North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee, they intermarried, and/ or settled with established Native communities. Thus, they are perhaps some of the ancestors of the modern Melungeons, Lumbees, and other Native and/or Native descent communities of the Southeast. Among Melungeons, names one only finds in Portugal, such as Elvas or Elvis, Navarro or Navarrh, and Canara, are still popular (Kennedy 1994:107). In fact, Elvis Presley, who hails from Tennessee, was most likely of Melungeon descendent. Among Lumbees, the common tribal name Chavis would originally have been pronounced and spelled Chavéz in Spanish, or Chaves in Portuguese. It is this latter spelling that is still in common use by Lumbees today. During the course of 300 years, considerable mixing between these two related, yet distinct communities, along with others, also occurred.

Political History of the Lumbee Indians - Coalescence
Malinda Maynor