# How many first cousins do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975 "2004-10-13T06:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/81 "2004-10-14T01:00:46Z")
I have 42 first cousins. A couple are adopted, one’s deceased, but they’re all family. StG ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/82 "2004-10-14T04:10:49Z")
**16.** My mom has 5 siblings, and I have 13 cousins on her side (two of them, twin boys, died recently as infants ☹ ) My dad has two brothers and I have 3 cousins on his side. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/83 "2004-10-14T04:54:27Z")
I have 15 first cousins. 9 on Dad’s side ``` 6 on Mom's side Of the 15, I would recognize only three if I met them on the street. One cousin on Dad's side has died, so there are 14 living. ``` Can we talk about our nieces and nephews? I have 6 nieces and 3 nephews. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/84 "2004-10-14T09:06:50Z")
> [@gouda](#): > > Eight - four on each side. Both my parents have 2 sisters, each of whom have 2 kids. I have 1 brother, which means that all 5 families have had 2 kids each. > > Interestingly, the middle sibling on either side has had her first kid one year before the eldest sibling. The youngest sibling on either side has had her first kid exactly 10 years after the first of the cousins was born. > > Make sense of that, I dare you! 😛 Just to add to that, the youngest sibling of both my parents (each of whom incidentally are the eldest of their bunch) have each had two daughters. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/85 "2004-10-14T11:03:32Z")
I have somewhere between thirty and forty first cousins. I haven’t tried counting them in a while. My number of first cousins once removed is rapidly expanding, though; everyone seems to be having children. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/86 "2004-10-14T11:25:53Z")
Lessee… ::counts on fingers:: On my mom’s side, I’ve got three first cousins, one of whom is related biologically. The other two, who were adopted, I have no contact with on a regular basis. My biological cousin is a lot more like a brother than a cousin. On my dad’s side, I _think_ I have two first cousins, but I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to them at all in about fifteen years, maybe more. Aaron has one first cousin on Airman’s side, whom he has not yet met, but he does have two first cousins once-removed whom he has. ::MsRobyn eyes her brother and sister-in-law. They’re not getting any younger… 😉 :: ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/87 "2004-10-14T11:37:36Z")
I have 6. One of my friends has 86! Her mum is from a family of 13 and her dad is from a family of 12. It boggles my mind. ---
**Author:** ![jarhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f1d935/32.png) [@jarhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jarhead)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/88 "2004-10-14T12:44:37Z")
At least 12 > [@Cunctator](#): > > We’ve been having a discussion in the office this afternoon about first cousins and, in particular, how many of them people have. One woman has over 30! > > So - how many first cousins do you have? By first cousins I mean the children of your parents’ brothers and sisters. > > Since both of my parents are only children, I have no uncles or aunts. So I’m right at the very bottom of the scale, with no first cousins at all. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/89 "2004-10-14T21:06:37Z")
1. 45 on my dad’s side, and 4 on my mom’s. My Uncle Jack (dad’s bro) used to joke that he was the black sheep of the family because he only had four kids. Don’t ask about the number of second cousins (my cousin’s kids). The number approaches infinity. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/90 "2004-10-14T22:32:25Z")
23, and only two are not blood relatives. TheLadyLion was amazed that I grew up with so many close cousins and was able to have half a dozen at our wedding as she grew up rarely seeing the few she had. ---
**Author:** ![Sami41](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/91 "2004-10-15T00:33:17Z")
Four on my Dad’s side (one is adopted) who I haven’t seen in at least a decade. Eight on my Mom’s side, who I see about every other Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/92 "2004-10-15T00:53:15Z")
33, one of which I’m not supposed to know about. All on my mother’s side as she was one of 7, my father was an only child. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/93 "2004-10-15T01:20:50Z")
1. 5 in the U.S., 9 in Ireland, 7 in the UK, and 2 in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/94 "2004-10-15T01:42:05Z")
My dad is one of three offspring, my mom is one of…one. I have six first cousins, all male; my dad had the female offspring (my sister & me). ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/95 "2004-10-15T01:46:06Z")
Eleven, which I know is pretty bad for an Irish family. \ But they’re having kids like crazy; there’s about 25, I think. And my little brother got married and his wife’s expecting my godson this winter! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/96 "2004-10-15T02:02:43Z")
16 on my mom’s side. I’ve had contact will all but one in the past year. I have 6 on my dad’s side and I have never met any of them. I did get an email from one of my dad’s nieces about 3 years ago and I replied but she never wrote back. ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/97 "2004-10-15T02:31:10Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yes you can. My wife has three half older siblings from her father’s first marriage. They are my wife’s half brother and sisters. They each have children. My wife and I have a daughter. The children of my wife’s half-siblings are her half first couisins although I always get dirty looks when I point that out. Thanks for the insight. I wasn’t factoring in half sibs. I got hung up on thinking of the sibs having multiple marriages…and that if the sib is one parent it does not matter who the other parent is… or something equally convoluted. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/98 "2004-10-15T02:34:42Z")
1. My dad has one brother, my mother is an only child. I have more siblings than first cousins. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/99 "2004-10-15T03:41:57Z")
Probably 21. The uncertainty is about how many kids one of my dad’s brothers has. I only met him once, but not his family. I haven’t seen most of my cousins in decades, and it’s quite possible that I may never see them again. Come to think of it, I don’t even know where any of them live but one, or whether they’re married and/or have kids of their own… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975/100 "2004-10-15T04:03:22Z")
On my mother’s side, I have seven cousins. On my father’s side, it’s a bit more complicated, as a result of a triple wedding in which my grandfather and his two brothers married my grandmother and her two sisters. The three couples all lived in the same small village and between them had twenty seven children (need I mention it was a Catholic wedding?). These kids ended up being more like siblings than cousins. Then they grew up and began marrying and having a new generation. As a result, I can’t begin to count how many cousins I have. If you go by the strict definition of the children of one of my father’s seven siblings, it’s over thirty. If you go by the way are family acts and throw in all the children of this generation, it’s probably around a hundred. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-do-you-have/268975.md?page=6)