Named after William Chauvenet - American astronomer, mathematician (1820-1870).
Chauvenet is a lunar impact crater that is located to the northeast of the prominent crater Tsiolkovskiy on the far side. Less than one crater diameter to the northwest is the crater Ten Bruggencate. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, with the satellite crater Chauvenet C overlying the northeastern side and intruding into the interior. A ridge runs from the western side of this intruding feature to the midpoint of the interior. (wikipedia entry)
A crater is a circular depression likely created by an impact event. On the Moon they are named after deceased scientists, polar explorers, astronauts or cosmonauts.