In this spelling, the surname is not found in any known reference source. We believe that it is a variant of the French surname "Nequet" - itself extremely rare and only found as shown below. "Nequet" was apparently a baptismal nickname surname which would seen to translate as "the born official" from the Medieval "Quaestor" - a financial officer elected to the early French parliaments. Quite why anybody should be called "the born official" is a mystery, although names which are a developed form of descriptive oaths, are quite common. Oddly enough in the English records is the name "Nequs", one James Nequs being a witness at Friern Barnet Church, London on April 9th 1854, whilst on December 26th 1859, the name holder below married Jean Courdie also at Tarn et Garone - these are the only known recordings of the surname or it's variant spellings. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anne Nequet, which was dated April 12th 1840, christened at Tarn et Garone, France, during the reign of King Louis Phillippe of France, 1830 - 1848. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.