The Ancestry.com app We’re Related has proven to be a fun novelty sort of parlor game. The app utilizes the information found in your Ancestry online family tree to look for similarly-named individuals in the family trees of various famous people: politicians, actors, musicians, and your Facebook friends.
Of course, most of the relations are very distant: 3rd cousins 8 times removed; 9th cousins 2 times removed, etc. Explaining how those relationships are determined is relatively simple. A common ancestor is the foundation for the relationship. Your generational distance from that common ancestor (grandchild? great-great-grandchild? great x9 grandchild?) and the other person’s generational distance from that same ancestor is plotted on a chart, like the one below. Where the two lines intersect you see the term which defines your relationship. The further away you both are from the common ancestor the more distant the cousinship.
If you and your new famous relation are from different generations, the “removes” are added. “Once removed” simply means that one of you is a generation removed from the generation of the other. “Twice removed” means that you are on the same generational level as that person’s grandparents or grandchildren. Generally, it can be assumed that there is a generational remove if there is an age gap of more than a few years between yourself and your match, though this is not always the case.
Once you get used to using the chart you can determine relationships with the greatest of ease. But when someone asked me if their 9th cousin was a closer relation than their 7th cousin 4 times removed, I had to admit that I wasn’t sure.
In both cases, we are talking about consanguinity – the blood relationship between two people. The proximity or distance of the relationship is measured in degrees of separation between the two individuals. This relationship is most often of importance when sorting out an estate in an effort to determine which relatives are of the proper degree of consanguinity to be eligible legatees to the estate of the deceased, or in determining if your intended spouse is too closely related to you.
There is one degree of separation between you and your parents. There is also one degree of separation between you and your children. You are directly descended from your parents and your children are directly descended from you. Because you are not the direct descendant or direct ancestor of your siblings, but share one or both parents in common, there are two degrees of separation between you and your siblings. The chart below helps to explain the idea of degrees of separation.
NOTE: This chart applies to legal definitions of consanguinity rather than genetic definitions of consanguinity.
Consanguinity tells me that Helen Keller, my 6th cousin 5 times removed, is 19° of separation. There are more than six degrees between me and Kevin Bacon, who is my 8th cousin twice removed: 20° of separation. My closest famous relation is Abraham Lincoln, my 3rd cousin 5 times removed, with only 13° separating us.
Screen shot from Ancestry’s We’re Related app
The next time you are trying to explain how someone is related to you, use the Familial Relationship Chart to determine the precise relationship. And if you find yourself curious to know which relations are closer to you, use the Consanguinity Chart.
If you need help determining your common ancestor in order to determine your relationship to someone, or if you would like help extending your family lines, let Legacy Tree Genealogists provide the research and the extensions to your family tree. Contact us today for a free consultation.
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My grandmother’s brother married my grandfather’s sister. I am told this makes my father and his first cousin, (the child of his maternal uncle and paternal aunt) not just first cousins, but double cousins.
I had heard of no other family with this set up. AND wouldn’t my father and this cousin then be more like siblings as in when twins marry twins? Wouldn’t that make me and that cousin’s children really only first cousins and not second cousins?
Kind of confusing, but I’d like to know.
Eileen
Yes, you are right – your father and his cousin are actually double first cousins. And you and any child of your father’s cousin would be double second cousins because the common ancestor you share is your great-grandfather AND your great-grandmother. Each of those relationships results in you two being second cousins. But because it happens twice, you are double second cousins. This is the same reason that your father and his cousin are double first cousins.
And if your father and his first cousin took DNA tests, their results would look more like the results of half-siblings rather than cousins.
Hope this helps!
Eileen, I have the same situation in my family; double 1st cousins. But, it doesn’t stop there. Three sisters married: my brother, my double 1st cousin and my nephew. The children of the sisters are 1st cousins on their mothers’ side, but it gets complicated on their fathers’ side. Children of my brother and double 1st cousin would be double 2nd cousins; children of my brother and nephew would be 1st cousins, once removed; and children of my double 1st cousin and nephew would be double 2nd cousins, once removed. Did I get it right?
They used to do this before and it’s nothing new and not so abnormal as you think. My family tree definitely has numerous relationships such as this. It was probably even more popular then.
Is there somewhere we can to print these charts?
Hi Jacqueline! We’re glad you find them useful. You may right-click on the charts, select “save picture as” and download it to your computer for printing.
If I supposedly have a DNA match to a 6th -8th cousin, how can we tell if there are any “removed” titles attached to our relationship? We don’t know where to look for our common ancestor, especially since we dont know what generation to start with. I realize that a 6th cousin would share a 5x great grandparent but how do we find out if our connection is a removed cousin?
As I understand it the removed part is if the cousin is one generation above me it is once removed. If the cousin is 2 generations above me it is twice removed.
An example I will give here is my father’s double cousin, Patsy. She is my double cousin once removed as is my first cousin, Dixiana, once removed. Both are my Dad’s first cousins.
Now to get you even more confused I will give you another twist. My Dad’s brother was married to a woman he had 2 daughters with. They are my first cousins. However, after my uncle and his wife got divorced, the wife became the wife of one of my dad’s first cousins (my first cousin once removed). They proceeded to have several kids. That mixed batch of kids had the same mom, but different dads, however since both my uncle and my first cousin once removed had the same last name, those additional kids are my second cousins, BUT half siblings and first cousins to my dad’s brother’s children. All those kids had 3 sets of grandparents. AND where we share common ancestors is at my great grandparents level.
NOW, can you even wrap your brain around that mess?
By the way, this, I think, could only happen in the state where marriage between first cousins is legitimate, Kentucky.
WOW! That is quite the pedigree!
What is the relationship between two people whose great grandmothers were siblings?
Hi Laura, they would be third cousins. I think you’ll love this chart: https://legacytree.com/dna-relationship-chart.
Hi – Can you please help me understand catholic marriage records which record the parties as 2nd and 3rd Consanguinity or 3rd and 4th Consanguinity? Which way do you move on the chart? Thank you
Recently discovered a 3rd cousin 151 cm his cousin also my cousin is 101 cm.Strange thing is i am black and they are not and I can not wrap my head around this.I can not imagine what great great grand parent we have in common???
If I didn’t know better I would think I had written this ,being in the same situation boggles my mind.Then the reality of history sets in.Iwant to know who we have in common and how ?
My great grandfather’s sister would be my great, great aunt. would she also be considered my third cousin, three times removed?
Thank you for your response
Don, I suggest you let us complete a research project for you. This will provide you with a detailed report to connect all of the dots. Please contact us by filling out the form on our home page https://www.legacytree.com.
Can you define/cite the standard authority for counting legal degree separation in Consanguinity?
I’d like to read further on their reasoning to begin count at 0° for “self” as opposed to 1°
Then cite that authority for recommending software be harmonized to a standard.
Thanks
Hi Brian – below is a response from the blog’s author:
Discussions surrounding legal degree of separation (consanguinity) can be found within the legal codes of the various states in the U.S. as well as university law school courses and individual legal practices. A few we found include:
University of Alabama at Birmingham – This is a chart showing the degrees of consanguinity, starting with self at “0.” https://www.uab.edu/humanresources/home/images/M_images/Relations/PDFS/FAMILY%20MEMBER%20CHART.pdf
Legal Information Institute – Texas State Administrative Code, explains how to calculate degrees of consanguinity or affinity, starting with self and noting the closest degree, the first degree, are spouses, and parent and child.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/19-Tex-Admin-Code-100-1113
Upcounsel – Definitions of consanguinity and method of computing consanguinity.
https://www.upcounsel.com/legal-def-consanguinity
Charles River Associates – Includes a discussion of how to calculate consanguinity and affinity and includes a chart to use in this process.
https://media.crai.com/sites/default/files/publications/Insights-Continuing-relevance-of-consanguinity-and-affinity-0216_0.pdf
Basically, there is no degree of separation from self, therefore we begin with “0” for self, and then count one degree of separation from self to the closest relation, adding an additional degree for each generation.
If you have more questions about the legal aspects of consanguinity and/or affinity, we recommend you contact your attorney. We are genealogists, not legal counselors, and your specific question may have legal wrinkles or complications outside of our genealogical experience.
Thank you very much for the references. I hope to never be entangled with needing to know that information for litigation.
I am strictly interested in designing to standard terms and calculations so they can be implemented in genealogy software with fewer caveats needing to be covered in the docs.
You are welcome and good luck with your software!
I only know for sure those first degree cousins, like the children of my parents siblings. I can recite their names and their parents names, Some those I have never met only met one time. I am unsure if I’d know them from Adam or Eve if ever I were to cross paths with them.
none of this makes sense to me so i will ask a question
my father’s brother is my uncle
what does that make him to my kids and their kids?
let’s say i want to add them to his obit. how would they be listed? maybe that will help me understand how this works.
thanks
Hi Mary, your uncle would be a great uncle to your children. Understanding how you relate to others in your family tree can be confusing at times. You can take the guesswork out with our easy-to-use DNA & Relationship Quick Reference chart here. If you need help to learn more about your family history, please fill out our contact form to get a free estimate on a consultation or research.
thank you for responding. LOL i did try tha chart you mentioned. I am still confused. LOL
It doesn’t show how he would be great uncle. how did you get to that? I think what i would like it a video watching how it is determined….. in fact it really doesn’t explain how anyone is related to me. except maybe the first two columns. that is why i am so confused. i don’t see how of the realtionships work expect for the grandparents, great grandparents etc. Maybe if I stare at it longer it will suddenly dawn on me. LOL
I’m so confused. We met someone who is a related to us. His Grandfather is my Grandmother’s nephew. What does that make him to me and what is he to my son?
Hello, it sounds like he could be your second cousin once removed and your son’s third cousin. We have a downloadable chart that may help with a variety of questions related to family relationships.