If someone walked up to
you and said "Howdy, I'm your third cousin, twice removed," would
you have any idea what they meant? Most people have a good
understanding of basic relationship words such as "mother,"
"father," "aunt," "uncle," "brother," and "sister." But what about
the relationship terms that we don't use in everyday speech? Terms
like "second cousin" and "first cousin, once removed"? We don't tend
to speak about our relationships in such exact terms ("cousin" seems
good enough when you are introducing one person to another), so most
of us aren't familiar with what these words mean.
Relationship Terms
Sometimes, especially
when working on your family history, it's handy to know how to
describe your family relationships more exactly. The definitions
below should help you out.
- Cousin (a.k.a
"first cousin")
- Your first cousins
are the people in your family who have two of the same
grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your
aunts and uncles.
- Second Cousin
- Your second
cousins are the people in your family who have the same
great-grandparents as you., but not the same grandparents.
- Third, Fourth,
and Fifth Cousins
- Your third cousins
have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the
same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.
- Removed
- When the word
"removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that
the two people are from different generations. You and your first
cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than
your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to
describe your relationship.
The words "once
removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For
example, your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once
removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is one
generation younger than your grandparents and you are two
generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation
difference equals "once removed."
Twice removed means
that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations
younger than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your
grandmother's first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.
Relationship Charts
Simplify Everything
Now that you have an
idea of what these different words mean, take a look at the chart
below. It's called a relationship chart, and it can help you figure
out how different people in your family are related. It's much
simpler than it looks, just follow the instructions.
Instructions for
Using a Relationship Chart
- Pick two people in
your family and figure out which ancestor they have in common. For
example, if you chose yourself and a cousin, you would have a
grandparent in common.
- Look at the top
row of the chart and find the first person's relationship to the
common ancestor.
- Look at the far
left column of the chart and find the second person's relationship
to the common ancestor.
- Determine where
the row and column containing those two relationships meet.
Common
Ancestor |
Child |
Grandchild |
G-Grandchild |
G-G-Grandchild |
|
Child |
Sister or Brother |
Nephew or Niece |
Grand-nephew or niece |
G-grand-nephew or niece |
|
Grandchild |
Nephew or Niece |
First cousin |
First cousin, once removed |
First cousin, twice removed |
|
G-grandchild |
Grand-nephew or niece |
First cousin, once removed |
Second cousin |
Second cousin, once removed |
|
G-g-grandchild |
G-grand-nephew or niece |
First cousin, twice removed |
Second cousin, once removed |
Third cousin |
|
FAQ's
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