Want to be the most popular person at your next family gathering?
Heres how to figure out how closely related you are to all your cousins.
The handy chart above,from Nathan Yau at Flowing Data, makes the relationships pretty simple to determine.
Heres the explanation of how the chart works:
Figure out the common ancestor between two relatives.
The result is how the first is related to the second.
Or, if you prefer, heres a handy glossary of cousin terms.
First cousins
Your first cousins are the children of your aunts and uncles.
Second cousins
Second cousins share a great-grandparent and are the children of first cousins.
So the kids of your dads first cousin are your second cousins.
Third cousins
Third cousins share a great-great-grandparent and are the children of second cousins.
The kids of your dads second cousin are your third cousins.
Are you sensing a pattern here?
Fourth cousins share a great-great-great-grandparent and so on.
Once removed
If youre removed from a cousin, that means youre from different generations.
If youre once removed from a cousin, that means you are separated by one generation.
Your dads first cousin is your first cousin, once removed.
Your first cousins daughter is also your first cousin, once removed.
Twice removed
If youre twice removed from a cousin, you are separated by two generations.
Your grandmothers first cousin is your first cousin, twice removed.
The granddaughter of your first cousin is also your first cousin, twice removed.
