Levels of cousins, also called degrees of cousinship, are fairly tricky to figure out. Especially for people who come from a large family, deciding how to determine first, second, and third cousins, and also what once or twice removed means, can be difficult. Cousins are not based on the relationship of a person's parents to his or her siblings, and they’re not based on marriages, except on an informal basis. Instead, cousinship is based on two people’s common ancestor.
For instance, if a person's mother's sister has kids, he might conclude that these children are his first cousins. This would be correct, but the relationship is not based on the fact that these are the children of the mother's sister. Instead, the children of his aunt are his first cousins because they share a grandparent in common. This is the common ancestor, to whom both individuals claim the same relationship. Note that this doesn't apply for children of the same parents who share the same grandparent. Instead, these children's closest common ancestors are their parents, so they are siblings, not cousins.
When children share the same great grandparent, but not the same grandparent, they are considered second cousins. So, if a man has children, and his first cousin, (his aunt's child) has children, then these children will have a great grandparent in common. It gets a little more complicated when considering a cousin's children.
When the common ancestor does not have the same relationship to two people, then the issue of removals comes into. In the case of a person's cousin's children and the person, the common ancestor is their grandparent, but to these children, that person is their great-grandparent. Therefore, his first cousin's children are his first cousins once removed. Removals occur only when the relationship to the ancestor is separated by generation.
Here are some examples of levels of cousins with removals:
Cousinship without removals always mean the common ancestor has the same relationship to each cousin:
It gets considerably more complicated when determining second or third levels of cousins and degree of removal. When someone has a great-grandparent who is someone else's great-great-great-grandparent, they are second cousins once removed. If they have a common ancestor who is one person's great-great-great-grandparent and the other's great-great-great-great-grandparent, they are third cousins once removed. Removal essentially counts generational differences or how many generations two people are apart from the common ancestor.
There is one special cousin relationship called double cousins, which makes people doubly related to each other. This occurs when two sisters marry two brothers. The children of these marriages will share not only a common grandparent, but they will share two sets of grandparents. Therefore, they are double cousins and likely to be closely related, from a genetic standpoint, to each other.
Cousinship here is determined from European and American standards. Levels may be different in other cultures, and the term "cousin" may not even exist in certain world cultures. It can get a little murky figuring out these relationships, and some people essentially avoid the issue and just call any relatives they know of as cousins or second cousins. From a genealogical standpoint, this isn’t quite correct, but still implies a family relationship.
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stolf
Post 107 |
@anon332866: No, you're not related. See below. @anon335329: Well, Michelle is your mother's sister-in-law, so you could be Michelle's niece-in-law and she your aunt-in-law, but most people don't consider in-laws beyond mother/father, son/daughter, brother/sister. |
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anon335329
Post 106 |
My mother just recently married my neighbor Michelle's brother. What does that make Michelle and me in relation to each other? |
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anon332866
Post 105 |
I met this guy who is the cousin of my brother-in-law. Does this mean we are related? |
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stolf
Post 104 |
@anon331686: You are essentially correct. Your mothers are half-siblings, so you and this guy are half-first cousins, and his son is your half-first cousin once removed. Well, my spell-checker said "sonic removed," but we know better, eh? |
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anon331686
Post 103 |
So mine and my male relatives (half cousin?) mothers are half sisters and he has a son. What is the son to me? The common ancestor is one grandma who remarried. I think the son would be a half cousin once removed but I just wanted to make sure. |
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stolf
Post 102 |
@anon331317: They are second cousins. Now may I ask you a question? As you can see from my responses to other questions here, kinship/genealogy is my hobby. I would like to know why you said this guy's grandfather was your daughter's grandfather's brother, instead of saying he was your uncle? Am I missing something?
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anon331317
Post 101 |
My daughter met a guy and found out his grandfather is her grandfather's brother. Does this make them cousins? If so, at what level? |
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stolf
Post 100 |
@anon330341: The word "married" is the key: unless there is some actual connection further back in your families, somebody married to your blood relative is not a blood relative of yours. So your girlfriend and you aren't cousins. To stretch this into some sort of "in-law" relationship is more than most people these days would bother to do. Suffice is to say, you're "related by marriage." I might also mention that your father's sister's son is not your uncle but your first cousin, right? If he's close in age to your father, because your father is much younger than his sister, then it would be natural for you to call him your "uncle," but he's still your first cousin. |
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anon330341
Post 99 |
My uncle, who is my dad's sister's kid, is married to my girlfriend's auntie. Does that make us cousins? |
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anon330118
Post 98 |
@anon329916: If you have parents who are siblings, you are first cousins. If you have grandparents who are siblings, you are second cousins, since your parents are first cousins. Marriage between second cousins is legal in all 50 states, and is now even acceptable in the Catholic Church without dispensation; they used to be stricter about that. And the fact is, in Western culture today, anything beyond first cousins is considered "distant." The degree of relationship between second cousins is just 1/32, compared to 1/2 for full siblings and 1/8 for first cousins, so it shouldn't be a problem. At the same time, among many people today there is great ignorance about kinship matter. I am reminded of Kyra Sedgwick freaking out when she discovered she and her husband Kevin Bacon were tenth cousins once removed. Tenth! Genetically, anything beyond fourth or fifth is virtually the same as a stranger off the street. |
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anon329916
Post 97 |
I like a girl but her grandmother and mine are sisters. Her grandmother had her mother and my grandmother had my mother. How related are we? |
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stolf
Post 94 |
@anon328204: Since your grandfathers are half-brothers, your parents are half-first cousins and you are half-second cousins. Your degree of relationship is 1/64, compared with 1/8 for full first cousins and 1/2 for siblings. People tend to view second cousins as "distant" cousins, and you're even beyond that. Legally, about half the states allow first cousins to marry, and all allow second cousins, so no worries there! |
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anon328204
Post 93 |
My cousin and I have been together going on two years. We would like clarification how close we are. My grandfather and her grandfather are half brothers. They share the same dad but not the same mother. |
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stolf
Post 92 |
@anon326719: No, you are not wrong. Your first cousins through your aunt have first cousins on the other side, their father's side. Likewise, your girlfriend's first cousins through her uncle have first cousins on the other side, their mother's side. In this case, it just so happens that both "other sides" are the same for those two sets of cousins, since the father of your cousins and the mother of your girlfriend's cousins are siblings. It's unusual, but it happens. Even so, you and your girlfriend are not related to each other. Your family and her family are both connected to the same family through marriage, but that's all. |
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stolf
Post 91 |
@anon326392: Cousins are descended from siblings. If those siblings are your parents, then you're first cousins. If those siblings are your grandparents, then you're second cousins. And that's you guys, second cousins! |
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anon326719
Post 90 |
My girlfriend and I just found out that my aunt was married to a man (been divorced for 20 years) who happens to be the brother of her uncle's wife. My aunt has two children, my first cousins. My girlfriend's uncle and his wife have two children, her first cousins. So, our first cousins are cousins. Is this wrong? |
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anon326392
Post 88 |
My grandfather is a brother to my boyfriend's grandmother. My grandfather had my mom, and his grandmother had his dad. How are we related? |
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stolf
Post 87 |
@anon322305: You and this guy are half-fourth cousins. In our culture, second cousins are considered "distant," and they share only one out of every 32 genes. By the time you get beyond fourth cousins, you are as genetically related as you would be to a random person off the street. For the record, half-fourth cousins share only one out of every 1024 genes, so no worries! |
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anon322305
Post 86 |
I met a guy and found out his mother's maiden name is the same a mine. I was concerned and my aunt told me that we are related, but didn't know how, so I looked it up online. We share the same great-great-great grandfather, but not the same great-great-great grandmother, because our grandfather's first wife died (who was my great-great-great grandmother) and he remarried and had another child so that child was in turn, his great-great grandfather. So, his great-great grandfather and my great-great grandfather are half brothers (only sharing the same father). What does this make us, please? Would it be gross to even consider a relationship? This stuff was in the 1800's. Please help me. I like the guy and he's good with my child and I do not want to break this off because of stuff that goes more than a hundred years back. |
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stolf
Post 84 |
@321111: Let's call your 4G grandparent Anna. Anna's nieces are her sibling's daughters. These nieces are also a first cousins to Anna's own child, correct? And Anna's child is your 3G grandparent. So the nieces are your first cousins five times removed. Once removed is your parent's generation; twice, grandparent; three times, great grandparent; four times, second great-grandparent; five times, third great-grandparent. As you can see, the "times removed" is always two more than the number of "greats." |
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anon321111
Post 83 |
If my fourth great-grandparent had two nieces, what would the nieces be to me? --Cody |
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stolf
Post 82 |
@anon319767: Here's your help! What you're asking is the basic definition of "removed" cousins. They are cousins to somebody in your direct line of descent, just not cousins to you -- that's why they are called "removed." And the number of times removed refers to how many generations away from you they are. Your parents' cousins are once removed from you; your grandparents' cousins are twice removed from you. So assuming your grandma's cousin is her first cousin, that is, the son or daughter of one of her parents' siblings, that person is your first cousin twice removed. By the way, that person's children are the second cousins of your parent and that person's grandchildren are your third cousins. |
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anon319767
Post 81 |
I need some help. If my grandma is cousins with this person, what is that person to me? |
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anon302533
Post 80 |
My cousin and I are double cousins. Our fathers are half brothers and our mothers are sisters. Both of us were born the same day on my dad's birthday and we are Gemini, so I always claim to have a twin cousin.
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stolf
Post 79 |
@anon302104: No, you are only half-fourth cousins. Cousins are reckoned from the closest common ancestor, and that would be your 3G grandfather. Since he had two wives, and thus you and your cousin have different 3G grandmothers, you would indeed be half-fourth cousins. But your 3G grandfather's parents -- your shared 4G grandparents -- are not your closest common ancestor. Their son, your 3G grandfather, is. Using your reasoning, siblings would also be first cousins since they share grandparents, second cousins since they share great grandparents, third cousins since they share 2G grandparents, etc. |
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anon302107
Post 78 |
I have 2 parents. I have 4 grandparents. I have 8 great grandparents (I call them the great 8. If we were from a cannibalistic tribe, I might change that to the great ate). I have 16 gg gps. I have 32 ggg gps. I have 64 gggg gps. I have 128 ggggg gps. I have 256 gggggg gps. I just found out my Mom and Dad had the same sixth ggps which made them seventh cousins, which explained the distance and neglect I experienced from being reared by my seventh cousins once removed, which made me my own seventh cousin twice removed and cheated me out of two of my 512 seventh ggps. Now I only have 510 ggggggg gps.
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anon302104
Post 77 |
So, If my cousin and I have the same great-great-great grandfather, that makes us fourth cousins. But, our common third GGF had 2 wives. His first wife is my third GGM. And his second wife is my fourth cousin's third GGM. So actually, we are only half-fourth cousins. What I want to know is, if we skip up to the next generation, where we do have the same fourth Great Grandparents, does that eliminate the "half" and make us whole fifth cousins straight-up? I just figured out the answer. The answer is "yes" We are half-fourth cousins from our common third GGF. And, we are also fifth cousins from our common fifth GGparents. Thank you. Unless someone would like to disprove that. |
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stolf
Post 76 |
@anon297658: Count the G's to determine cousins. If the numbers are the same, you are simply cousins. Same Grandparents = one G = first cousins. Same Great Grandparents = two G's = second cousins. Same Great Great Grandparents = three G's = third cousins. If the numbers are different, the lower one indicates cousins, and the difference between the two numbers is the times removed. So in your case its three G's versus four G's. That's third cousins once removed. |
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anon297658
Post 75 |
So if my Great-Great-Grandparents are someone else's Great-Great-Great Grandparents, how are we related? |
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stolf
Post 74 |
You don't say how your boyfriend is related to your step-parent's father -- your step-grandfather as you call it. If he's a grandson, you'd be step-first cousins, I suppose. If a grand nephew, that is grandson of your step-grandfather's sibling, you'd be step-second cousins. But none of these would be blood relatives, so most people would say you aren't related at all. |
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anon290512
Post 73 |
If my boyfriend is related to my step grandfather, does that make us related? |
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stolf
Post 72 |
@anon288467: Legally, you are on solid ground. No state prohibits the marriage of two people who are *not* blood relatives. Some do prohibit adopted or step relations but that's not the case here. If you truly believe that someone from family A marrying someone from family B means no one else from one of the families can marry anyone else from the other family, then you're stuck…unless you and your boyfriend get married first! But do you really feel that way? You might think about this: If your uncle and your boyfriend's mom got married, then got divorced, you and your boyfriend wouldn't be "related" any more. Can a real kinship relationship start and stop like that? Blood relations are forever. You are still related to your great-great-great grandparents, even though they are long gone. Good luck to you! |
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anon288467
Post 71 |
My boyfriend and I have been going out for several months now. But then my uncle came for a visit and fell in love with my boyfriend's mom, and I have a feeling he's not going to give up on her. I want my boyfriend's mom and my uncle to be happy, but I love my boyfriend and I don't want to go out with my cousin in marriage. Help! |
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6pack
Post 70 |
@anon285685 - if your grandmothers are first cousins, your parents (whichever it is, your mom and his dad, your two moms, etc.) are second cousins, and you and your boyfriend are third cousins. |
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anon285685
Post 69 |
If my grandmother and my boyfriend's grandmother are first cousins what does that make us? |
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stolf
Post 68 |
Throughout human history, up until only about a hundred years ago, cousin marriages were the norm. Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin married their first cousins, and the vast majority of your ancestors were the result of first and second cousin marriages. Recent studies have proved what our ancestors instinctively knew: that first and second cousin marriages are the most fertile, resulting in the most children, second cousins slightly more. True, bad genes can be passed along, as was the case with Victoria and hemophilia, but in the long run, these genes die out; the system is "self-correcting," whereas the good genes propagate and are reinforced. There's nothing you can do about how other people feel. Scientifically and medically, the bias against cousin marriages has been shown to have no basis in fact. In your case, half-first cousins are more closely related than second cousins, but not as close as 1st cousins. Bottom line: not everybody is against you, although it may seem that way. Good luck to you! |
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stolf
Post 67 |
@anon285096: Call this cousin "Zelda." For Zelda to be your second cousin, you and she must be of the same generation. Are you? Your grandmother and her brother (your grand uncle) are of the same generation. Zelda is one generation down from them, but you are two generations down from them, so you and Zelda are not second cousins. Zelda belongs your parent's generation. She is your parent's first cousin, because their parents are siblings. Since Zelda is your parent's first cousin, you and Zelda are first cousins once removed. If Zelda has children, those children would be your second cousins, because you and they would be of the same generation, since their parent (Zelda) and your parent are first cousins. It's easier to see if you try drawing it out on paper! |
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anon285272
Post 66 |
I am anon273282. If I was in love with my half-first cousin, is that considered bad if we both experienced love at first sight? Take into consideration I never had met him or seen him my whole entire life and he had never met me, until we met one day and we were told in that moment we were cousins. My family thinks it's bad and so does his. Is it really that bad if we wanted to get married? I mean, how can society look at you bad and I feel bad for feeling how I do, but I just can't look at him in that way, since I was not raised knowing he was my cousin and I never saw him. |
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anon285096
Post 65 |
I'm kind of confused, I've been told all my life that my cousin is my second cousin, but now that I go over it in my head I'm just confused. Well, my grandmother is my great uncle's sister, and my great uncle is the father of my cousin. What degree of cousin is he to me? Please help me. |
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stolf
Post 63 |
@anon282594: Let's call the son of your aunt and your boyfriend's cousin "Zack." Zack is your 1st cousin. Zack is also the son of your BF's first cousin, thus your BF's 1st cousin once removed. You are a blood relative to Zack's mother's side only, through your aunt, Zack's mother. Your BF is a blood relative to Zack's father's side only, through his cousin, Zack's father. Assuming the two sides of Zack's family are not related to each other in any way, you are *not* a blood relative of your boyfriend. No laws forbid the union of non-blood relatives, with the exception in some states of adopted relatives, which doesn't apply here. It then boils down to what *you* consider "family." But since you and your BF are not blood relatives, at least the the law is on your side.
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anon282594
Post 62 |
My boyfriend and I have an issue. My aunt has a son with his cousin, so we have him as a mutual cousin. Does that make us kin? I need to know. I don't want to marry my family. Thanks for your help. |
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sputnik
Post 61 |
@anon278813 nothing more than just roommates. |
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stolf
Post 60 |
@anon278813:When two people get married, and unless each is an only child, they are likely to have nieces and nephews. These children of the bride and groom's siblings are obviously not blood relations to each other. But are they related "by marriage"? People look at it in different ways. Your spouse's family are your "in-laws." But are you an "in-law" to each of them? With respect to siblings, the answer is yes: the man my sister marries is my brother-in-law. Notice that I can thus have an in-law without being married myself. But is my first cousin's spouse my in-law, or my niece's spouse? Some people indeed use the terms "cousin-in-law" and "niece-in-law," but many don't. They would say "cousin by marriage" and "niece by marriage." In your case, "first cousins by marriage" could describe you and your roommate, but the more common assessment would be that you simply are "not related" in any way. For example, think of one of your cousins. That cousin has cousins through their parent who is not the sibling of your parent. Do you think of yourself as related to those "other side of your cousin's family" cousins? My guess is you do not. |
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anon278813
Post 59 |
My mom's sister married my roommate's dad's brother (in other words, my roommate's uncle married my aunt). What does that make us? |
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stolf
Post 58 |
@whywhywhy: Call "this guy" Vince. Since he is your dad's third cousin, Vince is your third cousin once removed. And since Vince is your girlfriend's dad's second cousin, he is her second cousin once removed. But where does that leave your and your girlfriend? Your dad and your girlfriend's dad are third cousins. Because Vince is your dad's third cousin, all of Vince's siblings, first cousins, and second cousins are also your dad's third cousins, and of course your girlfriend's dad is one of Vince's second cousins. As the offspring of third cousins, you and your girlfriend are fourth cousins. The fraction of genetic inheritance you share is 1/512. If you imagine 512 pennies, 1 penny is what you share, the other 511 is what you don't. Thus you and your girlfriend as about as closely related as two random people off the street -- so no worries!
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whywhywhy
Post 57 |
This guy in my area is somehow related to me; he has the same surname as me. He and my dad are third cousins and my girlfriend's dad is his second cousin. Where does this leave me and her? It's so confusing. |
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stolf
Post 55 |
@anon273282: Because your father and aunt are half-siblings, you and your aunt's son are half-first cousins. You are more distantly related than full first cousins, but closer than second cousins. In a legal sense, I would imagine that you could marry (not that that's what's going on here, but just as a for instance) in a state that didn't allow first cousin marriages since you are more distantly related than first cousins, although they may very well treat full and half relations the same, in which case you couldn't. The point is, your relationship to this son is similar to that of full siblings versus half-siblings, just one step further "sideways" on your family tree. For the record, the degree of relationship for siblings is 1/2; half-siblings 1/4; full first cousins 1/8; half-first cousins (you guys) 1/16; full second cousins 1/32. |
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anon273282
Post 54 |
My aunt (dad's sister) and my father are from the same mom but they have different fathers. Would that make my aunt's son and I first cousins? Or no, because my aunt and father didn't share same father? Please, I need an answer if anyone could tell me if we are or not? |
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anon273092
Post 53 |
If someone is my aunt's second cousin, what does that make them to me? |
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anon269065
Post 52 |
What relationship is my father's first cousin's child to me? |
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anon268904
Post 51 |
I met this guy and his mother's brother had a child with my aunt, which made him and my aunt's sons first cousins. Does that make me and my friend kin? |
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anon266033
Post 50 |
My boyfriend and I just found out his dad's brother was my grandfather's sister's husband. What does that make us? |
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anon265734
Post 49 |
Just wondering if my cousin's brother's cousin is related to me or my sister. |
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aly6
Post 48 |
So my aunt (my mom's sister) married a guy. That guy's cousin has a daughter. What am I to her? Am I related to her in any way. |
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anon263561
Post 47 |
My cousin is my boyfriend's cousin. Are we related, even if it was my uncle who was with his cousin? |
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anon262023
Post 46 |
If my grandmother and my boyfriend's grandfather are first cousins, what does that make us? |
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anon254413
Post 45 |
My mother and her sister married two men who are first cousins, so what does that make me to my aunt's children? |
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anon243321
Post 44 |
My mother has twenty-seven first cousins. She is related to four of these cousins twice because my mother's father and their father are brothers and my mother's mother and their mother are first cousins. She's clearly their first cousin through the paternal side but what level of cousin is she to the these four on the maternal side? |
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anon238197
Post 43 |
If you are related to the same GG(10x)father on both your parents' side, what is he? On my mother's side, it's 10 generations and father's side is 11 generations. I am the link that joins them. |
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anon230081
Post 42 |
Jules, double first cousins are as genetically similar as 1/2 or step-brothers and sisters. Your and your brother's children are double second cousins. Their common ancestors are their great-grandparents, who are two generations apart from them. Remember, their relationship isn't based upon their relationship to you and your brother. It's based upon their relationship to their common ancestor. |
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anon222818
Post 41 |
I met this guy and we found out that our great grandfathers were brothers. What type of cousins are we? |
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anon212030
Post 40 |
If my cousin has children, does that mean me and her children are second cousins? |
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anon195814
Post 39 |
I just found out that my boyfriend's great uncle (his mother's uncle) is also my grandfather's first cousin. Does that make us related too? If so, how? |
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anon195135
Post 38 |
My friend is dating a guy whose grandfather is first cousin to her own great-grandmother (her father's grandmother) What is the relationship of my friend to her boyfriend? And is it acceptable? |
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anon194648
Post 37 |
My friend's uncle married my cousin. What is our relationship other than being friends? |
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sally342
Post 36 |
If my friend's grandfather is married to my great aunt (grandmother's sister), what degree of cousin are we? |
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Seeknanswr
Post 34 |
My Aunt (dad's sister) and my father are from the same mom but they have different fathers. Would that make my Aunt's son and I first cousins? Or no, because my aunt and father didn't share same father? |
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stolf
Post 32 |
Each and every one of your questions is going to be answered, complete with a colored chart, on my daily blog which deals with genealogy and kinship on Sundays. |
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anon172256
Post 28 |
I have an example: My mom and your mom are first cousins so what would that make you and I: second cousins? |
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anon170774
Post 27 |
my best friend is cousins with my half sister's half sister. does that make her anything to me?
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anon169184
Post 26 |
If your boyfriend's grandma is my grandma's aunt, what does that make us?
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anon165954
Post 25 |
I have a seventh great grandfather who is also another person's great great grandfather. Can someone please tell me how exactly will me and that other person be related? |
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anon165333
Post 24 |
can i marry the girl whose great grandmother is my great aunt? |
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Gina123
Post 23 |
Me and a friend found out we have a common family member today. If my first cousin once removed is her great-great uncle, what does that make us? |
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anon163364
Post 21 |
A friend of mine has an uncle, which just so happens to be my great-aunt's son. But my mother shares a different father than all the rest of her siblings. Since my friend's uncle is my mother's cousin, would that make me and my friend related? |
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mrsstull86
Post 20 |
Ok my question is this: my great-grandmother has a half brother, and he has a son. does that make us related by blood or what? i have always been told we are cousins but recently my cousin is saying we aren't related. I'm so confused. please help me. |
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anon151918
Post 19 |
okay so i know this guy from school and we think we are related in a way, but not sure of it. His aunty married my uncle but my uncle has passed away. does that make us related? |
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anon145548
Post 18 |
So. If my 1st cousin's mom is the aunt to another person, but she divorced my uncle, would that remove the cousinship of her nephew? If that makes any sense. |
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anon145269
Post 17 |
My mom shares a grandparent so she is first cousin to Bob. Does that mean Bob is my first cousin once removed since I am next generation? Bob has a daughter Lynn we share a great-grandparent so that makes us second cousins, correct? Thanks, Sass. |
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anon138246
Post 16 |
my grandmother is first cousins with another person's grandmother. What does that make us? |
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anon132926
Post 15 |
ok what if my grandma has a cousin and that cousin has kids, are the kids related to me in some way? |
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anon130309
Post 14 |
me and someone are both first cousins to someone. does that mean that we ourselves are related? if so, how? thanks. |
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anon119889
Post 13 |
My name is Dominick. ok, my grandma on my mom's side is first cousins with the other person's (tim) dad, so what would that make us? |
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amypollick
Post 12 |
@83173: Your first cousin's children are your first cousins once removed. You are their second cousin, and your children are their second cousins once removed. It sounds complicated, but that's how it works, as I understand it. |
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anon83173
Post 11 |
I have a first cousin whose son just died. We are trying to figure out how he is related to my kids. I am thinking he is my second cousin and he would have been my children's third cousin. My first cousin and I share grandparents! Please help. |
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anon83146
Post 10 |
@cjh - your girlfriend and you are second cousins. yes in several countries it is legal |
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anon74308
Post 9 |
My mom's sister married my dad's brother so I see that we are called double-cousins, but this also implies an incestuous relationship as well. Is there a more specific name that does not carry this implication? Apparently we share 25 percent of the same gene pool vs. 12 1/2 percent for regular cousins. |
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anon57729
Post 8 |
My aunt (my mother's brother's wife) is a distant cousin of my bf. what does that make us? |
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anon54636
Post 7 |
I have a two and a half year old son. What is his relationship with my husband's cousin (Husband's mother's cousin's daughter)? What should he (my son) call her: aunty, or should he call her by her name? |
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anon45301
Post 6 |
Love the article. Thanks for clearing up much confusion about my relationship to my first cousin's kids! But by your own (correct) definitions of cousinship, I believe two of your examples are faulty: 1) "If you have a great grandparent who is someone else’s great, great, great grandparent, you are second cousins once removed." The relationship should be second cousins twice removed. 2) "If you have a common ancestor of a person who is your great, great, great grandparent and to some else is a great, great, great, great grandparent, you are third cousins once removed." The relationship should be fourth cousins once removed. -- Jedi Master Jordan |
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anon37021
Post 5 |
If our great grandparents were first cousins, what does that make us? |
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cjh
Post 4 |
If my girlfriend's grandmother and my grandmother are sisters what does that make us? is it legal |
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tuneone52
Post 2 |
I have a question, Katherine Isham is Thomas Jefferson's second great grand mother. Katherine is also my tenth great grandmother, What is my relationship to Jefferson? thank you Thomas |
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Jules
Post 1 |
My brother and I have two "double cousins," we share the same four grandparents. We all have our own children now, all of our children obviously share the same great grandparents as each other. I am wondering what term is used to describe the relationship between all of our children because I guess genetically they are closer than second cousins or first cousins once removed. I imagine that the term for them would be either be second double cousins or double cousins once removed?? I would love to know so we can tell our kids. Thanks. |