We took the below instances of non paternity events from DNA Kin website and added a few more below their info: Non Paternity The study of DNA for genealogical purposes often leads researchers to non paternity events. A non paternity event is an event where a person is given a surname that differs from his historical surname. Non Paternity Events 1. An illegitimate male child to a single woman takes her surname. 2. An illegitimate male child to a married woman takes the husband's surname, even though the husband is not the father. 3. Male members of a family take the name of a female member. 4. Children adopt a step-parent's name. 5. A child is adopted into a completely unrelated family and takes their name. If a non paternity event has occurred in the past, the genealogist must work back through the public records to determine what happened. A DNA test that reveals there was a non paternity event cannot tell you when or what that event was. Unfortunately, the event could be close in time, or it could be in distant years before records are available. Also, it could be an unrecorded event in a recent time period, like an unrecorded adoption or a common-law marriage. My additions: 6. children who have lost their mother and are farmed out to other families wind up taking their name. One of my 1st cousins whose mother died when he was around 1 year old lived with a family and enrolled in school using their surname, finally discovering at age 12 that he was not their son. 7. One other instance which might apply to a lot of black Kincaid's is freed slaves taking the surname of their master or someone they knew and respected. 8. Back in the days when it first became popular to have a surname, many people likely chose a name they liked and if 2 unrelated families happen to choose the same surname, their DNA would not match 9. A few people have successfully petitioned a court to have their names changed to a surname of their choosing and thus would not match DNA with most of that surname. Are there more non paternity events not listed above? DNA is a very exact science according to everything I read. Don W.