Figuring Out Your Cousin Relationships


I have had several discussions with family, friends and co-workers on various occasions, explaining the relationship between cousins, first cousins, second cousins, first cousins once removed, etc. This is a topic that can spark quite a debate amongst people, and as such, I felt it was something that could be explained in better detail here on my genealogy site!!

Here is an explanation for cousin relationships within a family: (I will use my Grandmother, Zoe Robinson as the starting point).

Zoe Robinson is the Common Ancestor

Her children are Shirley and Mary
The relationship between Shirley and Mary is Sibling

One of Shirley's children is Jeff
One of Mary's children is Dede
The relationship between Jeff and Dede is First Cousin

Jeff's child is Elliott
Dede's child is Tayler
The relationship between Elliott and Tayler is Second Cousin

Since Jeff and Dede are First Cousins, Jeff's child Elliott becomes Dede's First Cousin Once Removed and Dede's child Tayler in turn becomes Jeff's First Cousin Once Removed, and it is as the children of first cousins, they in turn are second cousins to one another!! If this is still too confusing for you, I will work on preparing a chart that shows the linkage of cousins within a family!! :)