Relationship Calculator

It's hard at times understanding the various levels of relationships in extended families. What does second cousin, twice removed mean? Well here's my understanding of the relationship descriptions plus a relationship chart that you can use to calculate how two members of your family are related.
Basically:

first cousins have the same grandparents
second cousins have the same great grandparents
third cousins have the same great great grandparents
and so on

Removed simply refers to the difference in the number of generations between the two people who's relationship you are calculating.
For example:

Person A is the grandchild of the common ancestor
Person B is the great grandchild of the common ancestor
The common ancestor is generation 0 (zero)
Person A is generation 2 (common ancestor=0; child=1; grandchild=2)
Person B is generation 3 (common ancestor=0; child=1; grandchild=2; great grandchild=3)
The difference in generations is 1 (3-2)
Person A and Person B are first cousins, once removed

Too much maths for you? Use the chart below to work out these relationships instead.

Identify the nearest common ancestor - if you don't you'll get some very strange results. For example, if you chose your grandparents instead of your parents as nearest ancestor, you and your siblings would be first cousins!
Look on the horizontal scale to find the relationship of the first person to the common ancestor
Look on the vertical scale to find the relationship of the second person to the common ancestor
Where the horizontal and vertical scales cross depicts the relationship

Common Ancestor	Child	Grandchild	Great Grandchild	2nd Great Grandchild	3rd Great Grandchild	4th Great Grandchild	5th Great Grandchild
Child	Sibling	Niece or Nephew	Grand Niece or Nephew	Great Grand Niece or Nephew	2nd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	3rd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	4th Great Grand Niece or Nephew
Grandchild	Niece or Nephew	First Cousin	First Cousin Once Removed	First Cousin Twice Removed	First Cousin 3 Times Removed	First Cousin 4 Times Removed	First Cousin 5 Times Removed
Great Grandchild	Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin	Second Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin 3 Times Removed	Second Cousin 4 Times Removed
2nd Great Grandchild	Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin	Third Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin 3 Times Removed
3rd Great Grandchild	2nd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin 3 Times Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin	Fourth Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin Twice Removed
4th Great Grandchild	3rd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin 4 Times Removed	Second Cousin 3 Times Removed	Third Cousin Twice Removed	Fourth Cousin Once Removed	Fifth Cousin	Fifth Cousin Once Removed
5th Great Grandchild	4th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin 5 Times Removed	Second Cousin 4 Times Removed	Third Cousin 3 Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Twice Removed	Fifth Cousin Once Removed	Sixth Cousin

My Wooff Raynor Morgan Hartley Ancestry

...bringing the families together

Relationship Calculator