Cousins Explained

Trying to figure out what to call the relationship of those in distant branches of your family tree can be very complex and frustrating to picture in your mind. The important starting point is to that Cousins are those relations who share a common ancestor with you and are at least 2 generations away, such as a grandparent or great-grandparent.

You and your siblings (i.e., brothers and/or sisters) are not cousins because your parents are only one generation away from you.

Example 1: You as the Common Ancestor.

If you had 2 married children, and they each had children, those children would be 1^st cousins.

Then if those children both have children, and their children will be 2^nd cousins.

Then if those children both have children, and their children will be 3^rd cousins.

Example 2: Common Ancestor and Removed Cousins?

How many times ‘Removed’ is the difference in number of generations to that of the ‘Common Ancestor’. In each situation, you need to identify who is the ‘Common Ancestor’.

In the example below, the ‘Common Ancestor’ is your 2x Great Grand Father and Mother.

This person is your 3^rd cousin twice removed because you both share 3 generations from the family of the common ancestor, and the twice removed is because there are an extra 2 generations.

So now lets put this all in one chart to see your relationship to your extended family.