# Genealogy Terminology Standards **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038 "2017-02-28T15:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maurie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Maurie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maurie)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/1 "2017-02-28T15:57:43Z")
The cousin sidebar in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=819850) got me curious about this. I am not a genealogy expert by any means, but have enough family members who are quite into it that it’s a pretty frequent topic of conversations at family get-togethers, so the differing terminology I was not familiar with surprised me. It seems like having a solidly agreed upon common language would be beneficial for those who are really into the topic, but I can’t seem to find anything established as THE source. I imagine it would differ culturally as I know that some countries use different metrics for relationships, but those of you into genealogy, is there a reference source that is sort of the standard within the genealogy world? ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/2 "2017-02-28T21:15:46Z")
Beyond “common” terminology such as “first cousin once removed”, the only thing that immediately comes to mind as a genealogist-only terminology might be the ahnentafel number, a handy numbering system that uses a specific person as number 1, his father is 2, mother 3, and then expands historically from there. > **[Ahnentafel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnentafel)** > > An ahnentafel (German for "ancestor table"; German: \[ˈʔaːnənˌtaːfəl\]) or ahnenreihe ("ancestor series"; German: \[ˈʔaːnənˌʁaɪə\]) is a genealogical numbering system for listing a person's direct ancestors in a fixed sequence of ascent. The subject (or proband) of the ahnentafel is listed as No. 1, the subject's father as No. 2 and the mother as No. 3, the paternal grandparents as No. 4 and No. 5 and the maternal grandparents as No. 6 and No. 7, and so on, back through the generations. Apart from ... ---
**Author:** ![Maurie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Maurie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maurie)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/3 "2017-03-01T15:55:13Z")
Thanks! That’s kinda cool! I more meant for the “common” terminology though - like in that thread where it seemed that what is a “first cousin twice removed” for some is a “second grand aunt” for others. I was curious to look into it more to see how that works, but couldn’t seem to find a definitive source. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/4 "2017-03-01T15:57:57Z")
[Here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin#Cousin_chart)’s a “cousin chart” from Wikipedia. They also call it a “table of consanguinity”. ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/5 "2017-03-01T16:00:34Z")
Is this what you mean? [Kin Naming Systems](http://anthro.palomar.edu/kinship/kinship_5.htm) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/6 "2017-03-01T16:30:13Z")
I’ve been doing genealogy for years, and there are no definite sources. All the US and English genealogy software I’ve encountered do use the X-cousin-Y-removed system, and I’ve never encountered the “Second Aunt” idea before now. But in Norwegian we stick with X-th-cousin’s-grandchild \<-\> grandpa’s-Xth-cousin. And other countries use the systems of their cultures. And as for numbering systems like ahnetafel numbering, there are [a bunch.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogical_numbering_systems) ---
**Author:** ![Maurie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Maurie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maurie)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/7 "2017-03-01T19:42:25Z")
Thanks so much for all the cool links! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genealogy-terminology-standards/781038/8 "2017-03-01T21:19:10Z")
Not everything is “officially” resolved. You sometimes hear someone saying “I’m a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson.” Um, what do you mean by “direct”? This is due to people saying things like “I’m a descendant of Abraham Lincoln.” No, you’re not. There are no proven living descendants of Lincoln. Somehow people think that it’s okay to use “descendant of” to mean “This person exists somewhere high up in my family tree.” So this ambiguity persists for some reason.