Ask Mike: Second Cousins and Cousins Once Removed
Hey Guys,
Family reunions can be confusing places. There are a lot of people there, but how in the world are they related to you? I couldn’t tell you how your great aunt is related to your step-brother’s cousin, but I can do my best to explain the difference between a “second cousin” and a “cousin once removed.”
A cousin (also known as a first cousin) is, as I hope everyone is aware of, someone in your family who shares the same set of grandparents. They’re the children of your aunts and uncles. Simple, right? Well, enjoy that warm feeling of accomplishment, because it’s about to get more complicated.
Fortunately, I found a page from the experts at Genealogy.com that explains things. A second cousin is somebody who has the same set of great-grandparents as you. However, their grandparents are different. To put it another way, think about your first cousin. For the sake of discussion, let’s call him “Cousin Homer.” If Cousin Homer has a kid named Bart, then Bart will be your child’s second cousin. Make sense?
So, that’s a second cousin, but how does that differ from a “cousin once removed”? Simple. When somebody drops the “once removed” phrase, what they’re really referring to is a difference in generation. For example, your Dad’s first cousin is your first cousin once removed. Your grandmother’s first cousin is your first cousin, twice removed. And so on and so forth.
There is also the question of “step-relatives.” You know, step-father, step-brother, etc. The meaning is well understood, but the origin of the term isn’t. According to World Wide Words, “the prefix (‘step’) was used in Old English to mark someone who had been orphaned.” Back then, being orphaned could refer to the death of either parent, “not necessarily both.” When the surviving parent married, the children became “step-children.”
Got any other questions on what the different family terms mean? Please leave a note in the comments and I’ll do my best to get you answer in time for your next reunion.
Say “Hi” to Aunt Lucille, and thanks for reading,
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AND WHAT IS A HALF SIBLING WELL THAT’S A CHILD WHO SHARES ONLY ONE BIOLOGICAL PARENT AND WHAT IS MY GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHERS NAME AND HOW DO I FIGURE THAT OUT?
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Q: Using your example of second cousins….If Cousin Homer is my first cousin, and his son Bart is my child’s second cousin, then what would Bart be to me? Is that where the the “once removed” comes in? So then, my first cousins children are my first cousins once removed?
Well, I managed to follow this up to the 2nd cousin part. But the rest of it is too much for my brain to wrap around. For people who believe the Adam & Eve story, that would make us all related somehow. Can you imagine putting a title to all the different ways we’re related to each other in that case? Let’s keep it simple and just consider everyone brothers n sisters.
I have a lot and a lot of cousins from my both parents because my late mother had 16 siblings and late father had 8 siblings. I have a lot of first cousins, second cousins and third cousins that we all still keep in touch whenever we have the chance, or I fly to visit the island, so I could see them most of the time. They are all over USA and Puerto Rico. I am waiting for the fourth cousin if one of them get married!
“A cousin (also known as a first cousin) is, as I hope everyone is aware of, someone in your family who shares the same set of grandparents. They’re the children of your aunts and uncles. Simple, right?”
They’re the children of your aunts and uncles? Don’t you mean they’re the children of your sisters and brothers? Your sisters and brothers are the aunts and uncles of your own children. You’ve managed to confuse an already confusing subject even more.
Coming from a large family and having many cousins, I found this interesting and informative. What would my first cousin’s child be to me? Are they a first cousin once removed as well?
To the person above me that said “don’t you mean your brothers and sisters”
The children of your brothers and sisters are your nieces and nephews. The children of YOUR aunts and uncles are your cousins. get it now.
Whether you believe the Adam and Eve story or not, it is agreed upon by many that eventually we are all related. Get back to the time of Charlemagne. Many younger people today can do that in 40 generations in some of their family lines. That would be your parents, grandparents and up through your 38xgreat grandparents. If each of those 38xgreat grandparents were a different person they would total over 1 trillion, 162 billion people. The population of the world was less than 250 million at that time and of course even less in Europe. Not everybody can find the documentation going back that far but that doesn’t mean that they are not one of Charlemagne’s descendants. I have some lines that have been documented that far back. Many people do.
It is believed the whole human race began in East Africa and some biologist feel we came from one female ancestor. They haven’t found the one male yet. Our ancestors were nomads. Our differences are due to mutations. Some people would have been
unable to survvive in certain parts of the world and would have died out. Example: The sun is very rich in vitamin D. It has been found that the minimum amount of vitamin D a black African requires is the maximum amount someone of northern European ancestry should have. Today it doesn’t make much difference as we have vitamin supplements.
To JB5370, Yes your first cousins’ chidren would be your first cousins once removed. Your first cousins’ grandchildren would be your first cousins twice removed.
I have a very simple script at my web site. You take the two relatives and find the common relative you both have. You select that from each column and it tells you the relation between yourselves. For example if my great grandmother is your forth great grandmother we are Second Cousins Three Times Removed.
To Dennis Marks What is your website? I would like to have acess to that script.
Awwwww man….. I’m soooo C O N F U S E D
I don’t have a family tree, it’s a bramble bush.
Mom second husband,my step-father, would refer to a family member as my step great aunt Fran.
Would you like to take a stab and explaining that reference?
the second cousin part made no sense. i did know what it meant before, but now i don’t remember.. wait, isn’t that when your parents cousin has a kid so they’re your second cousin? so if my cousin “Jeff” had a kid, and so did i, they would be second cousins?
they should proof read before they send out these blogs.
I knew what the first, second, and so forth meant but always wondered on the “removed” business and how it applied. Thank you for explaining all of this so well. The added tidbit on the “step” is also quite interesting. Word origins are really more fasinating than many people realize.
Now to uncover the roots of the word “step” in relation to it use in this capacity.
that’s where genealogy family charts come in handy.Take one to the next family reunion. Take a blank for new branches of the tree to be added…lot’s of fun! JMc
Mike, most people use the term cousin when referring only to first cousins but not everybody and those who don’t are just as correct as those who do. To some a cousin is a cousin is a cousin is a cousin. As far as I am concern my second cousins are just a cousin but to keep from confusing people I usually define specifically whether I am talking about a first cousin, second cousin etc, If I don’t know exactly I just say distant cousin, The Famly Tree Maker software will enable a person to find out exactly what type of cousin someone is. When you get back to your 7th cousins 5 times removed you really need a chart. I get emails from a guy in Florida and I just say he is a double distant cousin as one of my gr gr gr grandfather’s and his brother married sisters.
Lauren, your first cousins’ children are your first cousins once removed as your grandparents are their great grandparents, thus one generation different. You are also a first cousin once removed to your parents’ first cousins as their grandparents are your great grandparents, again one generation different.
Children of siblings are first cousins to each other as they share grandparents.
Chilodren of first cousins are second cousins to each other as they share great grandparents.
Children of second cousins to each other are third cousins to each other as they share great great grandparent.
and so on.
Your first cousins’ grandchildren are your first cousins twice removed as your grandparents are their great great grandparents, thus 2 generations removed.
Your second cousins’ children are your second cousins once removed as your great grandparents are their great great grandparents.
Now as you go down the line it can be confusing so it is good to chart it out.
Here is a link that explains cousins:
http://genealogy.about.com/library/nrelationshipchart.htm
I often times rely on my Family Tree Maker as I can compare a person to another person to determine the exact relationshp.
i need a friend, blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh
Ben, referring to cousins: “They’re the children of your aunts and uncles? Don’t you mean they’re the children of your sisters and brothers?”
You must be really confused. Children of your sisters and brothers are NOT your cousins. They’re your nieces and nephews.
This was written well and quite helpful – thanks! It’s a rough subject especially for people with low working memory capacity… just like theory of mind, if you can’t hold multiple ideas in your head at once, it becomes impossible.
How confusing!
Ok, my second cousin’s mom is cousins with my mom. She is my cousin once removed. Is her husband my cousin once removed in-law?
Also my second cousin onced remove is my second cousins child?
i understand the second cousins and cousins once removed, but, for some reason no matter how many times someone explains it to me i never understand step/half brothers or sisters.
I always thought my second cousin was my cousin’s child. What is my cousin’s child to me?
It’s really quite simple:
Parents are easy, right? Grandparents are easy too – they are direct descendants and the further you go back, the more greats you add on.
Uncles are your parents’ siblings. Grand uncles are your grandparents’ siblings. Great grand uncles are your great grandparents’ brothers, and so on.
Cousins are your grandparents’ grandchildren who are not your brothers and sisters. 2nd Cousins are your great grandparents’ grandchildren who are not your brothers or 1st cousins, etc. If there’s a generational difference, the number of generations difference equals the number of times removed.
And what about double cousins?
Ok, this one I know. It’s when your grandparents married siblings from the same family so you are related via both lines. For instance, my grandfather’s older brother married my grandmother’s older sister. Their children were first cousins to my mom on both sides, commonly called double cousins. Confused the heck out of me for years because Cousin Rose was Great Aunt Sarah’s daughter, but her last name was the same as Grandpa’s. It wasn’t until I found out her Dad was Grandpa’s older brother that it made sense.
Sorry, Mike… if I hadn’t already understood it, it would’ve been too confusing.
here’s a simpler explanation:
Think of it as a ladder.
On the top (first) rung are the mom and her cousin. They are first cousins to each other.
Their children are the generation below them, on the second rung. Those children are second cousins to each other.
When the people on the second rung have children, their children (on the third rung) are third cousins to each other.
The removed comes in when people are on different rungs from each other. The number of rungs that separate cousins is the number of times “removed” they are from each other.
Example:
Rung 1. Cousin A Cousin B
Rugn 2. Cousin A Jr. Cousin B Jr.
Rung 3. Cousin A III Cousin B III
Cousin A and Cousin B are first cousins.
Cousin A and B Jr are first cousins once removed.
Cousin A and B III are first cousins twice removed.
Cousin A Jr. and Cousin B Jr. are second cousins.
Cousin A Jr. and Cousin B III are second cousins once removed.
Cousin A III and Cousin B III are third cousins.
This is totally confusing.
I thought a 1st cousin was your aunt or uncle’s kid.
A 2nd cousin would be your 1st cousin’s kid, and so on.
If not, what WOULD they be called??
Wait, are my assumptions of what an “Aunt” and “Uncle” are even correct? I am thinking they would be a parent’s brother or sister, but after reading what constitutes a “Cousin”, I am not so sure now! lol!
thanksssssss
No Rick, your first cousins’ children are your first cousins once removed. The removes come in when you are in a different generation coming down from a common ancestor. Your grandparents are the great grandparents of your first cousins’ children. Thus one generation different. You are also a first cousin once removed to your parents’ first cousin because their grandparents are your great grandparents. Here are some relationship charts.
http://www.tarver-genealogy.net/aids/cousins.html
http://www.browncountytexasgenealogy.com/Cousins.htm
I have three cousins, two of whom are sisters to each-other. All three got pregnant around the same time by the same person. Would the kids be step-brothers and step-sisters or would they be cousins or step-second cousins or is there something that covers this contingency?
@Ben, the children of your brothers and sisters would be your “neices (spelling?) and nephews”.
The children of you aunts and uncles are your “first cousins”
My dad’s half brother’s daughter(my first cousin) son( my first cousin once removed) daughter wants to date my son.Are they related?
Can someone tell me which is a closer blood relative. my 1st cousin twice removed or my 2nd cousin? And also my 1st cousin once removed or my 2nd cousin.
@idiotsgetinfree so would it be safe to say that my greatuncle’s grandson is my first cousin (since were on the same rung), if not what would he be to me (btw im a guy)….(first cousin once removed, first cousin, second cousin?)…..if not, would it be okay to just call him cousin or first cousin anyways? thanks either way.
I am confused about this. My family have always said this to me, so this is how I view my family
My dads brother , my Uncle Kevin, is well, yeh my uncle. Uncle Kevins wife is not my blood auntie obviously, just by marraige. Uncle Kevin had two children and they are my cousins. First cousins. We share the same nan and grandad, only on dads side though. My dads mother, who is my grandmother has 4 sisters, and they are obviously my DADS Aunties, which makes them my GREAT Aunties. So my dads Aunties kids are my DADs cousins, so they are my SECOND cousins. Thats what i was brought up with
@ Michael. They’re not your second cousins, they’re your first cousins once removed because they are in your father’s generation which is one generation above yours and they are his first cousins. Their CHILDREN would be your second cousins because you share common great grandparents with them.
In my family we probably did it wrong but it was not confusing. My first cousins were the neices and nephews of the set of brothers and sisters. My second cousins were there children. Then they had the next set of children and those were my third were my third cousins. So my first cousin would be my son’s second cousin. Her son would be my second cousin but my son’s third. and it would go on and on…we never used the removed stuff….
Ijust found out my boyfriend’s great grandmother has the same last name as my mom. Are we related?
My blood uncle married a woman who gave him one son, making him my cousin. That woman is the sister of a woman who has one son. How do I refer to the sister’s son? I know he is not blood, but how do I refer to him? How does my son refer to his daughter? Thanx in advance. I’m guessing I refer to him as my friend (and yes, he is).
Can you have a 2nd cousin once removed? Never heard that before today and I thought I was pretty well versed in the cousin thing. Thanks
my fathers sister is my aunt her husband is my uncle, their children are my first cousins.now my uncles brother has children, those children are also my cousins cousins… are those any relation to me at all in the whole family tree branches thing???
Is it right to date my grandfather’s (father of my mother) brother’s daughter?
What would my second cousins, second cousin be to me? Or my second cousins, first cousin to me?
me and one of my friends has the same 1st cousin would tht mean we are related in some way as my friends farthers brother had a child with my auntie ?
I have a question,
If my dad is second cousin to lets say… George… (both have the same Grandfather), what does that make me to George?
Hope to hear back from you and I hope I explained that well enough.
Cheers!
How about my father’s half brother’s daughter? Further removed than a first cousin from a full blood brother of my dad, right? What would be the term for them? Half cousin? Quarter cousin?
I have a question,
If my dad is second cousin to lets say… George… (both have the same Grandfather), what does that make me to George?
Hope to hear back from you and I hope I explained that well enough.
Cheers!
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If they were second cousins, the most recent common ancestor would be a great-grandparent, not a grandparent….unless they were related in more than one way. If they share one or more great-grandparents as their most recent common ancestor, you and George are second cousins once removed.
If your Dad and George share a grandfather as their most recent common ancestor, they are first cousins and George is your first cousin once removed.
Are we even related at all?
My mums mum was married to william
William has a brother john, john had various children and grandchildren, one of whom i met recently, called chris, as we dont even share the same grandparents ( basically both our grandads were brothers) are me and chris related at all? Or just very very distantly, the reason i need to know is as he is a vicar i think he could provide a very good referee for a university course i wish to pursue but my referee and i cant be related! Hope you can shed some light on this for me id be very grateful! Thanks in advance!