I tried to Google it but it got VERY confusing very fast, if anyone could dumb it down for me that would be great lol
In: Biology
This may help: https://np.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1fqbhga/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_2nd_cousin/
siblings – share parents
first cousins – share grandparents
second cousins – share great grandparents
third cousins – share great great grandparents.
Removed is generational. So if A and B are first cousins, A’s children are first cousins once removed to B. A’s children and B’s children are second cousins (as above) to each other.
A’s grandchildren are first cousins twice removed to B.
Okay!
If person A and person B have the same grandfather, they are **first cousins**. Their parents were **siblings**.
If person A and person B have the same **great** grandfather, they are **second cousins**. Their parents were **first cousins**. Great great grandfather = third cousins, etc.
But what if person A and person B share a relative, but not at the same distance?
If person A’s grandfather is person B’s **great** grandfather, then they are first cousins, once removed. A is first cousins with B’s **father**. Which means that A’s **children** will then be second cousins with B, since they will be the same degree of removed from their common ancestor.
This is the best cousin diagram I have ever seen:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/bgqidm/the_cousin_explainer/](https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/bgqidm/the_cousin_explainer/)
At it’s most simple, cousins are the children of different siblings. exactly what type of cousin depends on how many generations separate the descendants from the siblings
Cousins first – we’ll get to the “removed” part in a bit.
Cousins are easy. Count how far back your most recent common ancestor is. Parents = siblings, grandparents = 1st cousins, great grandparents = 2nd cousins, great-great grandparents = 3rd cousins. If you and your cousin are different generations (i.e. your grandfather is their great grandfather), count from whomever is the closest in that case (so in the previous example, they’d be your first cousin because it’s your grandfather, not second cousin because he’s their great grandfather).
Removed is also fairly straightforward. Once you have identified your common ancestor, count how many generations apart you and they are. (Parent = 1, grandparent = 2, and so on). Also count the distance from your cousin to their ancestor. The difference between those two numbers is the difference in your degree of removal.
Here’s a chart:
Generation Count | Ancestor | – | – | –
—————-|——–|-|-|-
3 | Great Grandparent | – | – | Great Grand Uncle
2 | Grandparent | | Grand Uncle | 1st cousin twice removed
1 | Parent | Uncle | 1st cousin once removed | 2nd cousin once removed
0 | **You** | 1st cousin | 2nd cousin | 3rd cousin
1 | Child | 1st cousin once removed | 2nd cousin once removed | 3rd cousin once removed
2 | Grandchild | 1st cousin twice removed | 2nd cousin twice removed | 3rd cousin twice removed
3 | Great Grandchild | 1st cousin 3 times removed | 2nd cousin 3 times removed | 3rd cousin 3 times removed
[removed]
Two of my sisters married men who are first cousins.
Each sister’s children are first cousins of the other sister’s children through their mothers.
Each sister’s children are second cousins of the other sister’s children through their fathers.
Each sister’s children are first cousins *once removed* of their cousins’ father.
Each sister’s children are nephews/nieces of the other sister.
Each sister’s children are nephews/nieces *by marriage* of the other sister’s husband.
Confused yet? 😂 It’s true, though.
To help understand this, you need to be thinking *forwards* from the direct common ancestor of you and your cousins, not from yourself.
If you are first cousins, *one* of you has ONE generation between you and your last common ancestor. That is, Grandma had 2 kids, your mum and your aunt, and then there’s you and your cousin.
If you are second, or third, then you’re additional generations down and share the same great-grandma, great-great grandma, etc.
The “removed” describes the difference in which generation you’re in if there is one.
There’s 1 generation between me and our ancestor. It goes grandma -> mum -> me
There’s 2 generations between you and our ancestor. From MY perspective, It goes grandma -> my aunt -> my first cousin -> You
There’s a 1 generation difference between you and me. So you are ONCE removed.
From your perspective, it goes great grandma -> grandma -> mum -> you.
[Here’s a nice image explaining all that](https://preview.redd.it/first-cousin-vs-first-cousin-once-removed-v0-ers6gehfonbb1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=d3705d24ba259d264496a1342026b13e08f6ca37)
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