Something that has confounded many is how to determine how "removed" a cousin is, if they are at all. This document describes an easy technique for determining exactly how you are related to someone.
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Read straight through this document the first time, and then use the table of contents to jump to a specific part for reference.
Contents:
Web sites with alternate ways to determine removed-ness:
(Sung to the tune of Three Times a Lady by Lionel Ritchie)
Your my cousin once twice three times removed and I'm related to you
Take this example family tree.
..
...and take this slice from that tree:
With this triangle representation, you can easily tell that...
But before we get to cousins, let's make these basic representations clearer:
Joseph and Gertrude are...
They are zero levels below the apex.
Herbert and Rhea are brother and sister or, generically, siblings.
They are one level below the apex of this triangle, meaning the only generation above them is their parents.
Herbert is Marilyn's uncle, and Marilyn is Herbert's neice.
Rhea is Jeff's great aunt, and Jeff is Rhea's grand nephew.
Going further, Bullseye is Rhea's great grand nephew, and Rhea is Bullseye's great great aunt.
As you can see, Joseph and Gertrude are the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents of everyone in this triangle.
Further, Herbert is the father, grandfather, and great-grandfather for everyone on his (the left) side of the triangle, and is the uncle, great-uncle, and great-great-uncle of everyone (below his sister) on the other side.
Finally, Rhea is the mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother for everyone on her (the right) side of the triangle, and is the aunt, great-aunt, and great-great-aunt of everyone (below her brother) on the other side.
Okay, so now cousins.
Bruce and Marilyn are first cousins.
Aside from just "knowing", how can we tell? Because their common ancestor is two levels above them.
Here's the formula:
[levels above to common ancestor]
- 1
---------------------------------
[cousin level]
So, in this case:
2
- 1
----
1
The result is one, meaning "first" cousin.
Jeff and Brad are second cousins
Again, the formula:
[levels above to common ancestor] - 1 --------------------------------- [cousin level]So:
3
- 1
----
2
The result is two, meaning "second" cousin.
Bullseye and Macy are third cousins.
4 (levels to common ancestor)
- 1 (because that's the rule)
----
3
Three means "third" cousin.
Finally, removed-ness.
What determines removed-ness? We know there is removed-ness when the two people being compared are not in the same generation, and therefore not directly across in the triangle.
Let's say we want to determine the relation between Jeff and Macy.
They are not directly across from one another, so they are
[something] cousins, [something] removed.
The general "cousin level" is determined by the base of the (equilateral) triangle, which goes across the highest generation being compared. In this case, Jeff is a higher generation than Macy, so that's where we put the base of the triangle.
The base of the triangle determines the general "cousin level":
3 (levels up to common ancestor, from the base of the triangle) - 1 (because that's the rule) ---- 2
Two means "second" cousin. So Jeff and Macy are
second cousins, [something] removed. Removed-ness is determined by simply counting the number of generations below the base of the triangle. So Jeff and Macy are
second cousins, once removed
Let's try one more.
Marilyn and Bullseye are first cousins, twice removed.
The base of the triangle is put at Marilyn, because she is a higher generation than Bullseye. This determines the general "cousin level"
2 - 1 ---- 1
One means "first" cousin. Because Bullseye is two generations below the base of the triangle, we know it's twice removed.
To emphasize, both Marilyn and Bullseye are each other's first cousin, twice removed. This title goes both ways, regardless the generation gap.
If your first cousin has a child, they are your first cousin, once removed. Their grandchild is your first cousin twice removed.
geneaology