4-generation family tree template
Short answerA 4-generation family tree goes back to your eight great-grandparents, fifteen people in all. The boxes are numbered the standard genealogy way: you are 1, a person’s father is double their number and their mother double plus one. Print the blank chart below or build it online in Family Trees.
The template
Open the file in your browser and print it (choose landscape and “fit to page”), or open it in any app that reads SVG to type into it. Free to print, copy and share.
How to fill it in
- Start with yourself in box 1, then parents in 2 and 3.
- Fathers are always even numbers and mothers odd: box 4 is your father’s father, 5 his mother.
- Great-grandparents fill boxes 8 to 15. Leave a box empty rather than guess; an empty box is a research question.
- Note maiden or birth surnames for women, so each line can be traced.
Who it suits
Family history beginners who know their grandparents and want to see how far back they can go.
Make it online instead
Paper fills up and can’t be shared with cousins. In Family Trees, add each person once with a photo and the Ancestors view draws this chart for you, with round portraits, and keeps it up to date as relatives fill in their branches. Switch to any of the five views at any time. Free for up to 100 people; posters of any view, from Letter size up to 36 × 24 inches, come with Plus.
Questions
How many people fit on a 4-generation family tree?
This template has 15 boxes across 4 generations.
Is the template free?
Yes. Download it, print as many copies as you like and share it.
Can I fill it in on a computer?
Open the SVG file in a drawing or design app that reads SVG, or build the same chart in the Family Trees web app, which draws it from your family automatically.