Found in the spellings of Chichet, Chicot, Checkit, Chickett, Checkett and Checketts, the name does not appear to be recorded in England before the time of the Stuarts. In fact its origin is French (and possibly Huguenot), the name being an anglicized version of Chicheret, a name recorded from the protestant district of French-Compe, near Alsace and Lorraine. The original name was a descriptive nickname for a careful person plus the suffix 'petit' - which translates as 'son of Chiche' or 'little Chiche'. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margaret Checket. which was dated 1624 (Married) Richard Dutton at St. Thomas the Apostle, London. during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scotland 1603-1625. 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.