Tuesday Tidbits: COUSIN CONUNDRUM

1st cousin? 2nd cousin? 3rd cousin? Once, twice, thrice removed? Isn’t a cousin a cousin?

A lot of people find the whole 1st, 2nd, 3rd, once, twice, thrice, etc. confusing. My grandma explained it to me once and it made sense. So, now I hope to shed a little light on the cousin conundrum for all of you, the way I understand it. Pay attention, because there will be a quiz at the end of the post.

So who are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins? And why are some removed? Were they ousted from the family? No. It’s a way of tracking how closely family members are related.

For ease of reading and creating the diagrams, I have given each person two children, and beyond the initial couple, I haven’t listed anyone else’s spouse, though you can assume they all married. I have color coded it to hopefully make it easier as well.

In this diagram, Malcolm and Mildred are a married couple (all other pairs are siblings) who have two children, Valerie and Brandon. Valerie has two children, Phillip and Florence. Brandon has two children, Keith and Cinthia. Because they share grandparents but not parents, Phillip and Florence are 1st cousins to Keith and Cinthia. Pretty straightforward so far.

Lets drill down another level.

Phillip has two children, Ashley and Abraham.Florence has Janice and Gilbert. Keith has Sally and Henry. Cinthia has Patty and Rubin.

Because Phillip and Florence are siblings, their children are 1st cousins, and Keith’s and Cinthia’s children are 1st cousins.

BUT . . . Phillip’s and Florence’s children are 2nd cousins to Keith’s and Cinthia’s because their parents are already 1st cousins.

Now it’s starting to get confusing, but bare with me.

So if Florence and Keith are 1st cousins and their children are 2nd cousins, What is Florence to Keith’s children? Hint: She’s not an aunt. So to Florence, Keith’s children, Sally and Henry, are 1st cousins (because of their parents) once removed because one is a 1st cousin and the other is a child of a 1st cousin.

Let’s go down one more level.

Will and Opal are 1st cousins to Joe and Beth.
Rob and May are 1st cousins to Sam and Cara.
Even and Fran are 1st cousins to Tim and Lynn.
Ray and Helen are 1st cousins to Toby and Tina.

Will, Opal, Joe, and Beth are 2nd cousins to Rob, May, Sam, and Cara because their parents are 1st cousins.

Likewise, Even, Fran, Tim, and Lynn (though 1st cousins to each other) are 2nd cousins to Ray, Helen, Toby, and Tina (who are 1st cousins to each other).

Phillip and Keith are 1st cousins. Their children are 2nd cousins to each other. And their children’s children are 3rd cousins.

If Florence and Cinthia are 1st cousins, then Gilbert and Rubin are 2nd cousins, and Gilbert and Toby are 2nd cousins once removed, because Toby is the child of one of the 2nd cousin's.

So the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc is how many levels you need to go up to find a common relative. The removed portion is how many children you go down.

Quiz Time!

1. Are Cara and Even 2nd or 3rd cousins?

2. Though Florence and Lynn are 1st cousins, how many times removed are they?

3. In the comic at the beginning of this post, if the first person is Abraham , list three potential relatives the second one could be?

4. Who are Ashley and Sam to each other?

5. If May and Ray each had a child (Stephanie and Logan), who would Stephanie and Logan be to each other?

Bonus: If Logan had a child (Mindy) who would Mindy be to Stephanie?

***Answers are at the bottom of the post after my bio.

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MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). Coming in 2019, The Daughter's Predicament (May) and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads (July). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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ANSWER KEY:

1. 3rd cousins

2. Twice removed

3. Even, Fran, Tim, Lynn, Ray, Helen, Toby, and Tina would all fit the bill.

4. 1st cousin once removed

5. 4th cousins

Bonus: 4th cousins once removed

~How many did you get right?