Family relationships, explained
How are you related? Each page below explains one relationship with a diagram, both directions, what to call each other and average shared DNA. The words are the same ones the Family Trees app uses when it names your relatives, so a cousin here is a cousin there.
Tools
Cousins
First cousin
Share grandparents; same generation.
First cousin once removed
Share great-grandparents; 1 generation apart.
First cousin twice removed
Share 2nd great-grandparents; 2 generations apart.
First cousin 3 times removed
Share 3rd great-grandparents; 3 generations apart.
Second cousin
Share great-grandparents; same generation.
Second cousin once removed
Share 2nd great-grandparents; 1 generation apart.
Second cousin twice removed
Share 3rd great-grandparents; 2 generations apart.
Second cousin 3 times removed
Share 4th great-grandparents; 3 generations apart.
Third cousin
Share 2nd great-grandparents; same generation.
Third cousin once removed
Share 3rd great-grandparents; 1 generation apart.
Third cousin twice removed
Share 4th great-grandparents; 2 generations apart.
Third cousin 3 times removed
Share 5th great-grandparents; 3 generations apart.
Fourth cousin
Share 3rd great-grandparents; same generation.
Fourth cousin once removed
Share 4th great-grandparents; 1 generation apart.
Fifth cousin
Share 4th great-grandparents; same generation.
Double first cousin
Double first cousins share all four grandparents. It happens when two siblings…
Half cousin
Half cousins are cousins whose parents are half-siblings, so they share one…
Grandparents and grandchildren
Grandmother and grandfather
2 generations up the direct line.
Great-grandmother and great-grandfather
3 generations up the direct line.
2nd great-grandmother and 2nd great-grandfather
4 generations up the direct line.
3rd great-grandmother and 3rd great-grandfather
5 generations up the direct line.
4th great-grandmother and 4th great-grandfather
6 generations up the direct line.
5th great-grandmother and 5th great-grandfather
7 generations up the direct line.
Aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews
Aunt and uncle
A sibling of your parent.
Great-aunt and great-uncle
A sibling of your grandparent.
2nd great-aunt and 2nd great-uncle
A sibling of your great-grandparent.
3rd great-aunt and 3rd great-uncle
A sibling of your 2nd great-grandparent.
4th great-aunt and 4th great-uncle
A sibling of your 3rd great-grandparent.
Siblings, step and foster
Half-sibling
A half-sibling is a brother or sister who shares one parent with you instead of…
Step-sibling
A step-sibling is the child of your stepparent: the son or daughter your…
Stepparent and stepchild
A stepparent is the spouse or partner of your parent who is not your birth or…
Step-grandparent
A step-grandparent is either the parent of your stepparent or the spouse or…
Foster parent, child and sibling
A foster parent cares for a child in their home without becoming the legal…
Adoptive parent and child
An adoptive parent is a legal parent in every sense, and an adopted child is a…