# Fourth cousins twice removed??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fourth-cousins-twice-removed/19360 "2000-05-12T19:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fourth-cousins-twice-removed/19360/1 "2000-05-12T19:28:33Z")
What relation are my kids to my first cousin’s kids? Second cousins? First cousins once removed? And what is that whole “removed” thing anyway? Any help or links appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fourth-cousins-twice-removed/19360/2 "2000-05-12T19:39:44Z")
Your kids and your cousin’s kids are second cousins to each other. THEIR kids will be third cousins to each other. And so on. “Removed” signifies a number of generations away from a relationship. Your first cousins are your children’s first cousins once removed, your grandchildren’s first cousins twice removed, and so on. Sorry I know this is complicated … it might help you to draw a family tree while you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fourth-cousins-twice-removed/19360/3 "2000-05-12T19:48:31Z")
And for your topic question: two people that are fourth cousins twice removed would mean that one’s great-great-grandparent and the other’s great-great-great-great-grandparent were siblings. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fourth-cousins-twice-removed/19360/4 "2000-05-12T19:57:02Z")
Oboyoboyoboyoboy… OK, here it is, plain and simple. Or kinda. I’m not good at charts so I’m gonna try to lay it out verbally. Let’s take a man we’ll call Arnold. Arnold has two kids, Betty and Barney. Betty and Barney are siblings, brother and sister. So far, so good. Betty has one kid, Carrie. Barney has one kid, Cecil. Carrie and Cecil are first cousins. Still pretty simple. Carrie has one kid, David. Cecil has one kid, Darlene. David and Darlene are second cousins. Darlene is Carrie’s first cousin _once removed_. David is Cecil’s first cousin once removed. OK, one more generation and I think we can round out the picture nicely. David has a kid, Eleanor. Darlene has a kid, Ernest. Eleanor and Ernest are third cousins. Eleanor is Darlene’s second cousin once removed and Cecil’s first cousin _twice_ removed. Ernest is David’s second cousin once removed and Carrie’s first cousin twice removed. So, to sum up. Members of a family who belong to the same generation of descent from a common ancestor are cousins. Members of further generations are cousins _n_ times removed. How they are referred to depends on what branch of the family tree you’re looking at them from. What about the previous generations? Well, there’s no reciprocity there. You kinda have to refer to them as your ancestor’s cousins. For example, and you people from Indianapolis might be somewhat interested in this, Bill Hudnut is my father’s third cousin. I, however, am Bill Hudnut’s third cousin once removed. Bill Hudnut’s kids are my fourth cousins, and my father’s third cousins once removed. Having said all that, the answer to **furt** ’s question is left as an exercise to the reader. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fourth-cousins-twice-removed/19360/5 "2000-05-13T04:51:05Z")
Question answered, problem solved, ignorance fought. The SDMB in action.