# What do you call the child of a first cousin? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396 "2013-01-07T21:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ghost\_of\_6\_80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Ghost\_of\_6\_80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghost_of_6_80)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/41 "2013-01-08T22:13:05Z")
I would say second cousin though dont know if that or that first cousin once removed crap would be the appropriate term for that. Your parents first cousin could probably be considered a second cousin too. Maybe cousin would b good. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/42 "2013-01-08T22:23:58Z")
“Primo hermano (cousin sibling)” is another word if you want to distinguish between “first cousins and any other cousins”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/43 "2013-01-11T19:38:58Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Far too late to edit to add: > > Asked my Taiwanese wife what they do, and she said she’s got an uncle who is younger than her. Technically, she should call him “uncle” but they just use first names. This wasn’t all that unusual in North America when large families were more common. In one nuclear family, the oldest and youngest siblings could be 25 years apart or more, so baby aunts and uncles did happen. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/44 "2013-01-11T20:56:03Z")
I heard a friend talking about being proud of his “couphew” Perfect! I vowed to remember it and then hope my cousin had a son. And have a son he did, and I am similarly proud of my couphew. Alas, I have no good word for his twin sister… This thread seems like as good a place as any to wonder if there’s a non gender specific word for nieces and nephews (similar to _siblings_). ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/45 "2013-01-12T06:28:03Z")
Son/Daughter I’m off to NASCAR 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/46 "2013-01-12T06:52:12Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I heard a friend talking about being proud of his “couphew” Perfect! I vowed to remember it and then hope my cousin had a son. And have a son he did, and I am similarly proud of my couphew. Alas, I have no good word for his twin sister That would make her your couiece which I’d pronounce co-eese or kweese if you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/47 "2013-01-12T15:40:00Z")
I just call them the little cousins, or my cousins’ kids. (However, understanding and being able to explain the cousins-once-removed system is one of my few superpowers.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/48 "2013-01-12T18:57:42Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > No, in Spanish I use “primos segundos” (second cousins). No, those are in my generation, but our closest relatives are great-grandparents. I usually call them _los hijos de mis primos_ (my cousins’ children), but strictly speaking they’re _mis sobrinos segundos_ (my second nephews). I used to have one of my _tíos lejanos_ (distant uncles) as a classmate, we used to joke that we weren’t sure whether he was my _tío cuarto_ or my _tío quinto_ (fourth or fifth uncle). His dad and my grandma were first cousins. Since he was one generation above mine, he was my uncle and I his niece, although I’m half a year older (his sibs are all older). ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/49 "2013-01-12T19:00:51Z")
I probably wouldn’t actually use the correct phrase, “first cousin once removed,” in ordinary conversation. I’d probably say, “my cousin’s kid.” But since none of my six cousins have reproduced, nor myself or two brothers, I don’t really have to worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/50 "2013-01-13T02:34:38Z")
I call him Zack. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/51 "2013-01-13T22:33:00Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > The relationship is bi-directional. If Charlie is Bob’s first cousin once removed, then Bob is Charlie’s first cousin once removed. You count the shortest path back to siblings to get the cousinship, and the generations between them to get the degrees removed. According to _Encyclopedia Americana_’s article on “Genealogy”, the relationship is bi-directional only if both you and your cousin are the same number of generations from the common ancestor. If you and your cousin are different generations, the “N times removed” will be symmetrical, but the “Nth Cousin” will be different. “Nth cousin” indicates how far back is the nearest common ancestor. And it will be different, depending on whether it is reckoned from you, or from your cousin. “N times removed” indicates how many generations apart you are. If Joe is your first cousin’s son, he is a descendant of your grandparent, therefore your first cousin once removed. But the nearest common ancestor is his great grandparent; therefore, to him, you are a second cousin once removed. Descendants of yourself: son grandson great grandson etc Descendants of your parent: sibling nephew grandnephew great grandnephew etc. Descendants of your grandparent: uncle first cousin first cousin once removed first cousin twice removed etc. Descendants of your great grandparent: granduncle second cousin once removed second cousin second cousin once removed second cousin twice removed etc. Descendants of your great great grandparent: great granduncle third cousin twice removed third cousin once removed third cousin third cousin once removed third cousin twice removed etc. _Encyclopedia Americana_ has a graphic that makes it much easier to remember. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/52 "2013-01-13T23:41:06Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > According to _Encyclopedia Americana_’s article on “Genealogy”, the relationship is bi-directional only if both you and your cousin are the same number of generations from the common ancestor. If you and your cousin are different generations, the “N times removed” will be symmetrical, but the “Nth Cousin” will be different. > > “Nth cousin” indicates how far back is the nearest common ancestor. And it will be different, depending on whether it is reckoned from you, or from your cousin. “N times removed” indicates how many generations apart you are. > > If Joe is your first cousin’s son, he is a descendant of your grandparent, therefore your first cousin once removed. But the nearest common ancestor is his great grandparent; therefore, to him, you are a second cousin once removed… > > _Encyclopedia Americana_ has a graphic that makes it much easier to remember. The “nth cousin” refers to how many generations back you must go to find the common ancestor, using the smaller of the two numbers. The relationship is bi-directional. For example, my first cousins and I share grandparents. The common ancestor for me and my 1st cousins’ kids is my grandparent ( and their great grandparent). We are “first cousins” because the common ancestor is a grandparent to one of us and “once removed” because we are of different generations. [This Wiki entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin) has an easy to understand table and chart ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/53 "2013-01-14T00:55:49Z")
Encyclopedia Americana is flatly, unambiguously wrong if you’ve characterised the entry accurately. It is a bi-directional relationship because you count back the shortest path to the common ancestor. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/54 "2013-01-14T01:14:38Z")
And with further reading, the asymmetric method of determining degree of cousinship exists, is considered non-standard, and (according to Wikipedia) is excluded from most major dictionaries. It is also not the method used by most genealogy packages in my experience. If the Encyclopedia Americana omitted to mention this method of determining kinship is an alternative method that’s far less frequently used, then I’m still comfortable calling that wrong. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396/55 "2013-01-14T03:14:31Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > The “nth cousin” refers to how many generations back you must go to find the common ancestor, using the smaller of the two numbers. The relationship is bi-directional. For example, my first cousins and I share grandparents. The common ancestor for me and my 1st cousins’ kids is my grandparent ( and their great grandparent). We are “first cousins” because the common ancestor is a grandparent to one of us and “once removed” because we are of different generations. [This Wiki entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin) has an easy to understand table and chart First time I’ve _ever_ seen this “symmetric” definition for cousins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-child-of-a-first-cousin/646396.md?page=2)