This is a study of the Baughan surname and its many spelling variants, ie., Baughn, Baughan, Boughn, Baughan, etc. throughout the world but with special emphasis on Virginia. The study grew out of the difficulty with proving relationships between Virginia Baughan (and spelling variants) families based solely on paper trails. The Boughan family of Essex County, Virginia has established a reliable paper trail back to the late 1650s. Many other Baughans appear in the records in various parts of the state and researchers have been interpreting these records in different ways for more than fifty years. The expectation and goal of the Baughan surname DNA study is to determine the extent to which these Virginia Baughan families are interrelated and to enable all Baughan descendents to find their ancestral homes.