At a Glance
The name Cha Cha is probably derived from the sound of foot steps in the chasse. So there is nothing concrete meaning of Cha Cha. The foot steps sound like Cha Cha Cha.
It is known that Cha Cha has come from Rumba. When the English dance teacher Pierre Margolie visited Cuba in 1952 he watched that sometimes Rumba was danced with extra beats. Though this dance  was introduced by a famous musician Enrique Jorrin in 1948. He combined two Cuban dances the ‘Danzon’ and the ‘Montuno’. Coming back to Britain Pierre started teaching those steps in a new separate  dance form. That was Cha Cha.

The cha-cha requires very small steps because of its rhythm. The cha-cha part of the rhythm is almost a chasse, or a series of small gliding steps that touch the floor.