There’s a free online tool that gives you three easy ways to figure out what kind of cousin you are. Are you a cousin once removed? Second cousins, or something else? Find out now with Lisa Louise Cooke.
Calculating Cousin Relationships
As a genealogist, one of the most common questions I get from family and friends is about deciphering cousin relationships – things like “what’s a second cousin twice removed?” It’s a tricky topic, but I have the perfect tool to help make sense of it all: the Cousin Calculator on FamilySearch.
Watch the Calculating Cousin Relationships Video:
FamilySearch.org is a must-visit site for anyone interested in family history and genealogy research. It’s completely free to sign up and start building your family tree, searching historical records, and uncovering your family’s story. However, not all of the website’s features are front and center on the homepage. You’ll find three fun and free Cousin Calculator tools on the FamilySearch blog post Cousin Chart – How to Calculate Family Relationships.
1. Cousin Calculator Chart
The first method for calculating cousin relationships is a visual chart that makes it super easy to determine how you’re related to your cousins. By identifying the common ancestor and comparing how many generations you and your cousin are removed from that ancestor, you can quickly determine the relationship. Here’s how:
1. Start by selecting the description of your relationship to your ancestor from the options along the top of the chart (horizontally.)
2. Next, select the description of your cousin’s relationship to your ancestor from the options along the left side of the chart (vertically.)
3. Follow the lines to see where they intersect. In that space you will find the answer to your cousinhood!
Using the Cousin Calculator Chart at FamilySearch
2. Cousin Calculator
The second method is following the drop-down menus of the “Cousin Calculator” Start by selecting how your common ancestor is related to you. For example, they may be your 2nd Great Grandparent (the parents of your great grandparents.)
Next, choose the relationship of your cousin to that ancestor. For example, the ancestor may be the Great Grandparent of your cousin. The answer will appear in the “Your Relationship” column. In this example, the answer is You are 2nd cousins 1 time removed.
Select from the drop-down menus of the Cousin Calculator
3. Mathematically Calculating Cousinship
The Cousin Calculator goes even deeper, providing a third step-by-step process for mathematically calculating cousin relationships. This is a great opportunity to get the whole family involved. It’s a fun educational activity for the kids.
After walking through the mechanics of the Cousin Calculator, be sure to bookmark the tool on your phone for easy access. And most importantly, use it as a way to generate organic family stories and memories that come up when exploring your genealogy together.
Action Items:
- Bookmark the Cousin Calculator on FamilySearch.org for easy access,
- Try out the Cousin Calculator with family and friends,
- Engage kids in the mathematical calculations for cousin relationships,
- Use your phone’s voice recorder to record family stories that come up when using the Cousin Calculator.
Resources:
- Listen to my interview in episode #191 on the Family Tree Magazine podcast with Lisa Lisson on understanding cousinhood.
- Learn about more cousin calculators here at Genealogy Gems: HOW are we related?? Cousin Calculator.
- Download the Show Notes cheat sheet. (Premium Membership required.)
