How does the calculator work?
Every blood relationship comes down to two numbers: how many generations up from you the nearest shared ancestor is, and how many from them. Two steps each way is a first cousin. Three each way is a second cousin. When the numbers differ, the cousin is "removed" by the difference: three up from you and two from them is a first cousin once removed.
The answer comes from the same code a Kumbaa archive uses, so it says "great-aunt" and "half-sister" and "second cousin twice removed" the way the family tree does. For the whole grid at once, see the cousin chart; for the reasoning behind the words, the guide to cousin relationships.
Common questions, answered
| They are | So they are your |
|---|---|
| My cousin's daughter | first cousin once removed |
| My cousin's son | first cousin once removed |
| My mother's first cousin | first cousin once removed |
| My parent's cousin's child | second cousin |
| My grandparent's sister | great-aunt |
| My grandparent's brother | great-uncle |
| My niece's daughter | great-niece |
| My nephew's son | great-nephew |
| My cousin's grandchild | first cousin twice removed |
| My great-grandparent's sibling's grandchild | second cousin once removed |
Who counts as the shared ancestor?
The nearest one. First cousins share four great-grandparents too, but their grandparents are nearer, so they're first cousins, not second. If you share only one grandparent (your parents were half-siblings), you are half first cousins; the word is the same, with "half" in front.
What about in-laws and marriages?
Relationships by marriage don't have generations of their own: your cousin's husband is simply your cousin's husband. In an archive, Kumbaa names the common ones (sister-in-law, stepson, aunt by marriage) and spells the rest out as a path.