What are Second Cousins?

Are you part of a large extended family? If so, it’s likely you’ve wondered what exactly your relations to your extended family members are. A great question to answer is “What are second cousin?”. Let’s dive into the facts to answer this question.

Understanding The Cousins

In order to understand second cousins, you first need to understand first cousins. First cousins are people who share a common grandparent. When two people are first cousins, they each have one set of grandparents in common. Taking it one step further, your second cousins are the people who share the same great-grandparents.

Let’s put this into an example to make it clear:

Your parents are siblings; they both have the same mother and father. That makes you and your cousin first cousins, because you share the same set of grandparents. Your cousin’s child is your second cousin.

The simple reason being that you have one set of grandparents in common, but your second cousin has one set of great-grandparents in common with you. Thus, the two of you are second cousins.

What About Removes?

You may have heard the term “removed” used when referring to cousins. For example, you might hear something like “My second cousin is removed once.” What does the term “removed” mean?

A removed cousin means you are separated by one generation. You don’t necessarily need to be related by blood. For example, if you are the grandchild of a person’s aunt or uncle, then you are considered to be “removed” once.

If you are the child of a first cousin, then you are “removed” once – you are their second cousin. Likewise, if you are the grandchild of a first cousin, then you are “removed” twice and are a third cousin.

Conclusion

Now that you understand the concept of second cousins, you can use this knowledge to explore your extended family tree and learn more about the relationships you have with your extended family members. You may even discover you are related to people you never knew about!