General Chat

Think this has been asked before but it's bugging me and I can't for the life of me find the thread about this. How do you work out that whole 2nd cousin once removed stuff? Is there a way?! Help! Brain boiling! Amy x

Hello Amy, If the common ancestor is a grandparent, you are first cousins. If the common ancestor is a great grandparent, you are second cousins etc etc. In other words, add 1 to the number of greats in front of the common ancestor to get whether or not you are 1st 2nd 3rd cousins etc.. The removed bit is when there is a generation gap between you and the relation. If your great grandparent is the great great grandparent of the relation, you are second cousins once removed. If your great grandparent is the 3x great grandparent of the relation, you are 2nd cousins twice removed. The removed bit is the difference in the number of 'greats' between your relationships to the common ancestor. I hope this makes some sense!! Russell

Some people are soooooo quick at typing :-)

Hi Amy You have to think in generations. So think of your parents and their first cousins (children of their aunts and uncles). You're the next generation down from your parents and the children of your parents' counsins are therefore your second cousins. If you have children, then they will be third cousins to your second cousins' children. Does that make sense? The 'removed' rule relates to comparisons in generation. Therefore, you are first cousins once removed from your parents cousins because they are one generation away from you. Hope that helps.

;-))

Thanks all of you that's fantastic! I dont' feel like my heads going to explode anymore! Amy x