# How many siblings do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 9, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243 "2010-02-09T05:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/1 "2010-02-09T05:31:16Z")
How many siblings do you have? Brothers, sisters, or both? Are they older, younger, same-age (twins, triplets, etc) or a mixture? I have three siblings, all from my parents’ first marriages. Two half-brothers, and a half-sisters. They range from 13 to 19 years older than me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/2 "2010-02-09T05:41:49Z")
Seven. One brother below, one brother and five sisters above. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/3 "2010-02-09T05:50:04Z")
By “round up” I meant “count half-siblings has full siblings”. :smack: Sorry I didn’t phrase it better. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/4 "2010-02-09T05:54:19Z")
Do step siblings count? This can get messy, as I have 1 full sister, 2 step sisters who I was raised with and I count as my sisters, plus a step sister and step brother who I’m not close to. Who counts? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/5 "2010-02-09T05:55:12Z")
Two: an older brother and a younger sister. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/6 "2010-02-09T05:58:10Z")
Two, a brother and a sister. I’m the oldest. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/7 "2010-02-09T06:10:08Z")
One sister, five years younger. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/8 "2010-02-09T06:11:51Z")
I had four. I’m down to three now, and you said how many do you have, not how many were born into your family. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/9 "2010-02-09T06:21:44Z")
One younger sister. We’re 11 years apart. Same parents. They had us : Me when they were 19/ her when they were 30. The folks are still married and don’t seem to hate each other, which is sweet. I’m 40. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/10 "2010-02-09T07:07:47Z")
I have five who I count as siblings: One brother above, one sister below, then an acquisition (stepsister) and two mergers (half brother and half sister). I also have two acquisitions who were so late acquired that they are more like cousins than siblings, one older stepsister and one younger stepbrother. And just to round things out I have a younger ex stepbrother but I don’t know where he went, which made me sad for many years. It was harder to lose him than to lose his mother \as she was something of a loon. (For those following along at home, dad remarried twice, both times to women with kids, and is now a widower; mom remarried once and is still married) So technically I have 8 but I only count 5 as siblings. ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/11 "2010-02-09T08:19:24Z")
I’ve got an older stepbrother, a younger stepsister, (mom’s remarriage) a younger brother, and a newly acquired younger stepsister (dad’s remarriage). The youngest stepsister is the only one who doesn’t really feel like a sister yet; she’s 6 years younger than me, we’ve never lived in the same house, and she spent a couple of years (dad dated his now-wife for quite a while) living with her dad in another state. I like her and wouldn’t mind more of a sisterly bond, we just haven’t put in the years yet to get there. I also have a sister-in-law who feels more like a kid sister - she’s 12 years younger than my husband, 11 years younger than me, so I’ve known her for almost half her life at this point. I’m a big believer in family being what you make it, not just what you’re born with. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/12 "2010-02-09T09:15:37Z")
Two. One hasn’t spoken to me in the past two years, and I am not particularly upset about that fact. I speak with the other on a regular basis and he visits once or twice a year. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/13 "2010-02-09T09:28:42Z")
Two. One brother, two years younger than me, and one sister, four years younger than me. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/14 "2010-02-09T09:47:19Z")
I have a sister, she is 3 years younger than me. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/15 "2010-02-09T10:20:29Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Seven. One brother below, one brother and five sisters above. You’re “winning”, so far (or losing, depending on your perspective). BTW, does this explain why you became a runner: to get away? ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/16 "2010-02-09T10:26:15Z")
I have one sister and one brother, both younger than me. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/17 "2010-02-09T10:43:35Z")
Two younger half-brothers, 5 and 8 years younger than me. I grew up apart from them, but now that we’re all adults, I really do think of them as “brothers”. ---
**Author:** ![BaconAndEggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@BaconAndEggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaconAndEggs)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/18 "2010-02-09T10:45:23Z")
I’m an only child. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/19 "2010-02-09T10:58:25Z")
Two sisters (possibly three if you count the one that died shortly after birth), one half-brother via my mum, one half-sister via my dad\*, three half-brothers via my dad\*, two step-sisters, three step-brothers. So, 12 or 13 depending on how you count it. \*That I can confirm. There may be more. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243/20 "2010-02-09T11:14:16Z")
One younger brother. It was the late 70s/early 80s and my parents were into the whole zero population growth thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-siblings-do-you-have/528243.md?page=2)