The majority of people believe that the child of their cousin is their second relative. They’ll usually refer to the child as their second cousin, and address it as their cousin. This is not the correct way to refer to them.
The child of your cousin is called the first cousin once removed. They are not called your cousin because they’re “removed”. You should call them your niece or nephew instead.
What does Once Removed mean?
When you say someone is “once removed”, it can sound like they’ve divorced. But that’s not true. The term “removed” is used to describe each generation of your cousins’ children.
Your cousin’s grandchildren, for example, would be your second cousin. Your cousin’s children will be your second cousins.
What are second cousins?
Second cousins include your children as well as the children of your cousin. Every new generation brings a new number. If, for example, both second cousins had children, then their kids would be third cousins.
Look at the common ancestor to determine if someone is your second cousin. Determine who your nearest common ancestor was.
Your parents would be the ones who are responsible for you and your siblings. You and your siblings do not have any cousins. Your cousins may be related by the fact that your mother is their aunt. This would make your mother your common ancestor.
Look at the number of generations that your common ancestor has been. The first generation is your parents. The second generation is your grandparents.
You’ll know the number of generations to add before the word cousin once you know the number of generations the two people share.
The number equals the number of common ancestors minus one. You can count the number in the title of the person and add one.
If the common ancestor was:
- Your first cousin is your grandparent (two generations).
- The second cousin is your great-grandparent (three generations).
- Your third cousin is your great-great-grandparent (four generations).
What is my second cousin’s child?
The child of your second cousin is now your third cousin. Each new generation adds one number. You may get confused, but keep in mind that many people call everyone their cousin. This is acceptable.
What is a double cousin?
This situation is not common, but it can happen. When one set of brothers and sisters marry another set, the children are technically double first cousins. Both cousins share the same grandparents.
If I and my sister both marry brothers, we are considered double first cousins. If we had both children with our husbands then they would be referred to as double first cousins.
Your parents’ cousins are also yours
You can easily determine whether someone is your cousin by looking at the relationship they have with your parents. You can add one removed to the end of all your parents’ cousins.
Your first cousin by your parents is now your first cousin after removal. The second cousin of your mom becomes your second cousin once removed.
Third cousins are your second cousins once removed. With this quick tip, you can easily determine if someone is your relative or not.
There are many interesting family terms that you probably don’t know yet
Nobody seems to understand what a second or third cousin is. When I wrote this article, I only just learned what the term once removed means.
These are some interesting family terms you may not have heard of or are often used incorrectly.
Grandaunt vs. Great aunt
The great-aunt is often referred to by people as the sister of their grandparents. This is your grand-aunt, not great aunt. Grandaunts are the sisters of your grandparents.
The term great aunt is only used for the generations following your nearest grandparents. The same is true for great-uncles and granduncles.
Nuclear Family
Generally, a nuclear family is a household that includes two parents and their kids. This term is used today to describe members of a household. However, it is technically incorrect.
A nuclear family does not include an extended family, a household with more than one spouse or wife, or a household with multiple parents.
Cross Cousins and Parallel Cousins explained
You’ll come across parallel cousins and cross cousins when you research cousins.
Cross-cousins are the kids of opposite-sex siblings. Cross-cousins are children of opposite-sex siblings. Parallel cousins are called parallel children if, for example, the children of my sister and mine are technically called cross cousins.
Cross cousins is the term used to describe my children and my brother. I don’t care about either of these terms. I call them my cousins.
The cousin chart can be very helpful if you are trying to find out what relative someone is. The more you learn about terminology, the more confused it becomes.
There is no shame if your family calls everyone a relative.