# How am I related to these people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269 "2010-03-21T21:32:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/1 "2010-03-21T21:32:42Z")
Even reading the wiki and looking at their nice little chart didn’t help too much. I thought maybe if someone explained how my cousins are related to me, it would help more. Specifically I never got the whole first, second, third cousin thing, and am even more confused about the once removed, twice removed, etc. designation Note: All names have been changed to protect the innocent 😃 My mother, Cleopatra, has an older sister, Baba Yaga, who has a son named Zeus. Zeus’s wife Hera has a younger brother named Goliath. Goliath has 2 kids, Gilligan and Ginger. How are Gilligan and Ginger related to me? Are we cousins? My great-grandfather had 3 wives. I’m a descendant from the first wife, the main branch of the family I guess. His third wife, Lilith, had a son named Thor, who had a son named Ghandi. Ghandi had a daughter named Aeris. How is Aeris related to me? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/2 "2010-03-21T21:47:05Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > My mother, Cleopatra, has an older sister, Baba Yaga, who has a son named Zeus. Zeus’s wife Hera has a younger brother named Goliath. Goliath has 2 kids, Gilligan and Ginger. How are Gilligan and Ginger related to me? Are we cousins? I don’t think they _are_ related to you. They’re your cousin’s niece and nephew by marriage, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/3 "2010-03-21T21:53:43Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Even reading the wiki and looking at their nice little chart didn’t help too much. I thought maybe if someone explained how my cousins are related to me, it would help more. Specifically I never got the whole first, second, third cousin thing, and am even more confused about the once removed, twice removed, etc. designation > > Note: All names have been changed to protect the innocent 😃 > > My mother, Cleopatra, has an older sister, Baba Yaga, who has a son named Zeus. Zeus’s wife Hera has a younger brother named Goliath. Goliath has 2 kids, Gilligan and Ginger. How are Gilligan and Ginger related to me? Are we cousins? > > My great-grandfather had 3 wives. I’m a descendant from the first wife, the main branch of the family I guess. His third wife, Lilith, had a son named Thor, who had a son named Ghandi. Ghandi had a daughter named Aeris. How is Aeris related to me? First question: Baba Yaga is your aunt; Zeus your (first, or german) cousin. Hera is no relation, but would count as cousin-in-law as a relative by marriage. Goliath and his kids are no relationship to you. (But from Zeus’s perspective, Yog Sosoth is his cousin, Gilligan and Ginger his nephew and niece by marriage.) Second question: Thor would be your grandparent’s half- or stepbrother, your parent’s stepuncle, and your step-great-uncle. Ghandi would be your father’s (first step-)cousin, your cousin once removed. Aeris would be your second cousin. (Technically step-cousin, but starting with cousin, the step- distinction is not made.) Half-siblings genetically share one but not both parents. step-siblings are the children of one member of a couple by a second parent not in the couple. Example: Adam and Eve marry and have a son Seth. Pete and Gladys marry and have a daughter Eunice. Adam dies; Gladys divorces Pete (whom she caught sleeping around on Friday). and Pete marries Eve and they have twins Noel and Joyce. Adam is Eunice’s stepfather, Gladys is Seth’s stepmother. Seth is Eunice’s stepbrother. But Adam and Gladys are parents to the twins, no step involved, and Seth and Eunice are half-brother and half-sister to the twins; they each share a biological parent. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/4 "2010-03-21T21:54:35Z")
I believe it breaks down at the marriage, but if we ignore that (that is, if we pretend that Zeus and Hera are siblings) then… Yaga would be your aunt, Zeus and Hera would be your first cousins, and their kids would be your first cousins once removed. Second example…Lesse, if we pretend for a moment that everyone came from the first wife, Aeris would be your Second cousin once removed, but in this case I guess Aeris would be your half-second cousin once removed. ETA half-second cousin, not removed. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/5 "2010-03-21T21:55:06Z")
Interesting, **Yog Sosoth** , how all you supernatural entities reproduce like minks in heat with each other, even across pantheon lines! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/6 "2010-03-21T21:55:36Z")
> [@](#): > > My mother, Cleopatra, has an older sister, Baba Yaga, who has a son named Zeus. Zeus’s wife Hera has a younger brother named Goliath. Goliath has 2 kids, Gilligan and Ginger. How are Gilligan and Ginger related to me? Are we cousins? You and Zeus are cousins (to be more precise, first cousins zero times removed). You and Gilligan and Ginger are not related at all biologically, since you don’t have any common ancestor (or at least, none you mentioned). Socially, you might or might not consider them to be “kin”, depending on the standards of kinship in your culture, but I don’t think any language has a term for that specific relationship beyond just “kinsman” or the equivalent. > [@](#): > > My great-grandfather had 3 wives. I’m a descendant from the first wife, the main branch of the family I guess. His third wife, Lilith, had a son named Thor, who had a son named Ghandi. Ghandi had a daughter named Aeris. How is Aeris related to me? Aeris would be your half-second-cousin, zero times removed, assuming that Thor’s father was your great-grandfather, and not from a previous relationship. In the general case: All blood relations (where there’s a common biological ancestor) can be regarded as some sort of cousin. The number of times removed is the difference in generation between the two cousins, and the nth part says how far back from the “older” cousin the common ancestor is. So, for instance, if Zeus and Hera had kids, they’d be your first cousins once removed (Zeus is the same generation as you, so his kids are one generation removed from you, and you’re closer to the common ancestor (your grandfather), so it’s first cousins). If Zeus and Hera’s kids grow up and have children of their own, they’d be your first cousins twice removed (again, you’re closer to the common ancestor, and he’s your grandfather, hence first cousins, but now there’s two generations different). If you have kids, your kids and Zeus’ kids would be second cousins zero times removed (zero times removed because they’re the same generation, and second cousins because the common ancestor is the great-grandparents, on either side). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/7 "2010-03-21T21:58:49Z")
Former professional genealogist here. As **elfkin477** said, you are not related to Hera, Goliath, Gilligan, or Ginger. Thor is your half grand-uncle; Gandhi is your half first cousin, once removed; and Aeris is your half second cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/8 "2010-03-21T22:04:39Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Second question: Thor would be your grandparent’s half- or stepbrother, your parent’s stepuncle, and your step-great-uncle. Ghandi would be your father’s (first step-)cousin, your cousin once removed. Aeris would be your second cousin. (Technically step-cousin, but starting with cousin, the step- distinction is not made.) > > Half-siblings genetically share one but not both parents. step-siblings are the children of one member of a couple by a second parent not in the couple. A “step” anything has no blood relation to you. The only “step” person to **YogSosoth** in question two would be Lilith, his step-great-grandmother. (I am assuming that Lilith had her son Thor by **YogSosoth** ’s great-grandfather.) ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/9 "2010-03-21T22:07:20Z")
If I’ve done the math right: 🙂 In the first example: You and Zeus are Cousins. And You and Hera (Zeus’s wife) are cousins-in-law. You would be nothing to Hera’s brother or any of their children. In the second example: Great Grandfather’s kids by wife 1 and Great Grandfather’s children by wife 2 would haf siblings to each other So the grandfathers are half brothers to each other Thor is the son of one of the grandfathers by wife 3, and the OP’s father is the son of the other grandfather by wife 1 Thor and the OP grandfather would be half cousin’s to each other. The OP would be a half cousin once removed to Thor. The OP and Ghandi would be half second cousins And Areis would be your half second cousin once removed Any children of the OP would third half cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/10 "2010-03-21T22:12:33Z")
For the first, second, etc. cousins - If you have the same grandparents as someone, they’re your first cousin. If you share a set of great grandparents with someone, but you _don’t_ have the same grandparents as them, they’re your second cousin. Same great great grandparents, but different great grandparents would be your third cousin, and so on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/11 "2010-03-21T22:24:08Z")
I had my genealogy software check my work. Assuming Lilith had Thor by Yogsoth’s great-grandfather: **Relatives of Yogsoth** Half 2nd Cousin: Aeris Half 1st Cousin, Once Removed: Gandhi Half Grand-Uncle: Thor ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/12 "2010-03-21T22:25:07Z")
OK I think I screwed up. I made a tree for the second example. [History Tree (JPG File)](http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7102/3rde.jpg) Someone check my work and see if it’s correct. If so then it should read like this Thor and the OP Grandpa are half brothers Ghandi the son of thor and the OP Father are half cousins to each other The OP and Aeris are half second cousins to each other ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/13 "2010-03-21T22:27:16Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > For the first, second, etc. cousins - > > If you have the same grandparents as someone, they’re your first cousin. If you share a set of great grandparents with someone, but you _don’t_ have the same grandparents as them, they’re your second cousin. Same great great grandparents, but different great grandparents would be your third cousin, and so on and so forth. And for once removed, etc: My first cousin’s child is my “first cousin once removed”. That’s also the relationship between my cousin and my son. My first cousin’s grandchild is my “first cousin twice removed” and my son’s “second cousin once removed”: It’s all about having a common ancestor, but being different numbers of generations down. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-related-to-these-people/533269/14 "2010-03-23T18:48:47Z")
Damn! I have to break it to my sister Princess Leia that Gilligan and Ginger are not related to us! Oh well, we can still hang out, they are nice people.