# How many First Cousins have you had? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695 "2014-03-14T15:25:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/1 "2014-03-14T15:25:40Z")
If your parents are/were both only children, then you will have had zero first cousins. If they both came from large families who produced many next generation offspring then you may have hundreds of first cousins. For clarity’s sake this poll is for a count of the number of offspring of your blood uncles and aunts on both sides of your family. Not step-cousins unless they are the offspring of a blood aunt or uncle. Not first cousins once removed or any of that. Just plain first cousins. You don’t have to do an actual count. A reasonable guess will work. An example: On my mother’s side there are three. On my father’s side there are nine. So my total number of first cousins is twelve. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/2 "2014-03-14T15:27:52Z")
Eight. Five paternal and three maternal. That said, “how many have you had” made me think this thread was going to go in a completely different direction. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/3 "2014-03-14T15:28:18Z")
I’ve got four. Each of my parents had one sister, and each sister had two sons. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/4 "2014-03-14T15:29:33Z")
34 - 8 on my mom’s side and 26 on my dad’s side (two of my dad’s sisters were prolific breeders) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/5 "2014-03-14T15:32:59Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > 34 - 8 on my mom’s side and 26 on my dad’s side (two of my dad’s sisters were prolific breeders) Did you not wish to vote in the poll? You’re ahead so far! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/6 "2014-03-14T15:38:07Z")
Sixteen for me: 10 paternal, 6 maternal. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/7 "2014-03-14T15:40:29Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That said, “how many have you had” made me think this thread was going to go in a completely different direction. I think the wording was probably to accommodate the inclusion of first cousins who have shuffled off the mortal coil, as one of mine has. I’m at nine – seven paternal, two maternal. But as the youngest of six with a 20-year span between youngest and oldest, my first cousins are all much older than me. I’m closer in age to my second cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/8 "2014-03-14T15:45:14Z")
Ummm…can we define “had”? My first cousins number 5. Two by one of my mother’s sisters and three by another. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/9 "2014-03-14T15:47:15Z")
My mom was one of twelve, so a huge glut there. And if we were counting first cousins once removed, I could add at least twenty more. My grandmother has something like sixty living descendents. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/10 "2014-03-14T16:02:46Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That said, “how many have you had” made me think this thread was going to go in a completely different direction. Five, and ditto! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/11 "2014-03-14T16:04:22Z")
Just the one, but it was legal in that state. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/12 "2014-03-14T16:06:08Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That said, “how many have you had” made me think this thread was going to go in a completely different direction. Um, yeah. There was one cousin… but never mind. Two paternal and I-honestly-lost-count maternally. At least forty - there were six siblings with five large families, and my namesake uncle had two sets over time. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/13 "2014-03-14T16:06:46Z")
I’ve got 8. My mom has 140+, because both of her parents came from families of 12 kids so she had a _lot_ of aunts and uncles out there. She’s only close-ish with a handful, though. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/14 "2014-03-14T16:08:52Z")
None. My mom had one sister, my dad has one brother, but neither had any children. My uncle’s second wife had a child who was early teens when they married. I’ve met him, but only once or twice. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/15 "2014-03-14T16:10:17Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Did you not wish to vote in the poll? You’re ahead so far! 🙂 Poll wasn’t there yet when I answered - now I voted! Where’s my “I voted” sticker? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/16 "2014-03-14T16:13:45Z")
6 maternal, 30 paternal. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/17 "2014-03-14T16:13:56Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I’ve got 8. > > My mom has 140+, because both of her parents came from families of 12 kids so she had a _lot_ of aunts and uncles out there. She’s only close-ish with a handful, though. That’s twenty two aunts and uncles producing an average of over six kids each. . .surely that 140 includes removes, or spouses? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/18 "2014-03-14T16:14:40Z")
32 or 33. I’ve got 29 on my mother’s side and 3 or 4 on my father’s, which we were not close to. My mother was one of six, and including the five of us kids in my family, there were 34 grandchildren. My son was the 100th great-grandchild. I can name all of the cousins, and a fair number of their spouses, but I’m lost when it comes to all of the children. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/19 "2014-03-14T16:26:59Z")
Three. My father was a only child, and my mom had but one brother. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695/20 "2014-03-14T16:32:15Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I think the wording was probably to accommodate the inclusion of first cousins who have shuffled off the mortal coil, as one of mine has. > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Ummm…can we define “had”? **freckafree** ’s interpretation is why I used “had” instead of “have.” There’s no way to control minds that leap at the incestual train of thought. So, go your own way. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-first-cousins-have-you-had/683695.md?page=2)