Family Relationship Chart: How to Read and Fill One In (Printable Guide)
Last updated: September 30, 2026
A family relationship chart shows what to call any relative based on how they connect to you — through which ancestor, how many generations apart, or through which marriage. The full chart is below, organized the way you actually meet people: up the tree (parents, grands), across it (siblings, cousins), down it (kids, nieces), and around it (in-laws, steps, halves).
Print it, stick it on the fridge before the reunion, and you'll never blank on "wait, what IS my mom's cousin to me?" again. (Answer: your first cousin once removed.) For live lookups with the counting done for you, the free relationship calculator at cousinchart.com names any connection in seconds.
Free printables for this page
Download a blank PDF (US Letter or A4) — free, no sign-up — or customize it in the maker above before printing.
Cousin Relationship ChartThe classic cousin grid: 1st cousin, 2nd cousin, times removed.
Kinship Chart (Fill-In)Relationship quick-check. Tap a phrase to see the correct term:
The answer will appear here.
The Chart: Blood Relatives
Organized by how the relative connects to you. The "shared ancestor" column is the key to the whole system — it's what determines every name.
| They are your… | How they connect | Closest shared ancestor(s) | Avg DNA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | You descend from them | — | ~50% |
| Sibling | Same parents | Your parents | ~50% |
| Grandparent | Parent's parent | — | ~25% |
| Aunt / uncle | Parent's sibling | Your grandparents | ~25% |
| Niece / nephew | Sibling's child | Your parents | ~25% |
| First cousin | Aunt/uncle's child | Your grandparents | ~12.5% |
| Great-aunt / great-uncle | Grandparent's sibling | Your great-grandparents | ~12.5% |
| Great-niece / great-nephew | Sibling's grandchild | Your parents | ~12.5% |
| First cousin once removed | Parent's cousin, or cousin's child | Grandparents (offset one generation) | ~6.25% |
| Second cousin | Parent's cousin's child | Your great-grandparents | ~3.125% |
| First cousin twice removed | Grandparent's cousin, or cousin's grandchild | Grandparents (offset two) | ~3.125% |
| Second cousin once removed | Parent's second cousin, or second cousin's child | Great-grandparents (offset one) | ~1.56% |
| Third cousin | Parent's second cousin's child | Your great-great-grandparents | ~0.78% |
DNA figures are population averages; individual results vary. Spot the two rules quietly running the table: each generation of distance roughly halves the DNA, and cousins pick up a "removed" whenever the two of you sit in different generations (full explanation here).
The Chart: In-Laws, Steps, and Halves
No shared ancestor here (except the halves) — these connect through marriages:
| They are your… | How they connect |
|---|---|
| Mother/father-in-law | Your spouse's parent |
| Brother/sister-in-law | Your spouse's sibling — or your sibling's spouse |
| Son/daughter-in-law | Your child's spouse |
| Uncle/aunt (by marriage) | Your blood aunt/uncle's spouse |
| Cousin-in-law | Your cousin's spouse (informal but universally understood) |
| Stepparent | Your parent's spouse (not your parent) |
| Stepsibling | Your stepparent's child — no blood shared |
| Half-sibling | Shares one parent with you (~25% DNA — blood relative) |
| Half-cousin | Your parent's half-sibling's child (~6.25% DNA) |
Three points save most of the confusion:
- "Step" means a marriage created the link; "half" means one shared parent. Half-relatives are blood relatives; step-relatives aren't. Both are family.
- English in-law terms stop after one link. Your brother-in-law's mother has no official title — "my brother-in-law's mom" is the correct term, honestly.
- Marriage titles are honorary but universal. Your aunt's husband is your uncle in every conversation that matters.
How to Use the Chart in 3 Steps
- Describe the person as a chain from you: "my mom's → cousin's → son."
- Collapse the chain with the chart: mom's cousin = first cousin once removed; their son drops one generation back to your row = second cousin.
- Check the direction of generations. Same generation as you → plain cousin (first, second, third). Above or below you → either the aunt/uncle ladder (adds "great") or the cousin ladder (adds "removed").
The two ladders trip everyone up, so here's the distinction plainly: relatives connected through your parents' or grandparents' siblings stack "greats" (aunt → great-aunt → great-great-aunt as you climb). Cousins in different generations stack "removeds" (cousin → once removed → twice removed as you offset). If you can classify which ladder you're on, the chart does the rest — and if you can't, tap the chain into the calculator and it classifies for you.
The Five Lookups Everyone Actually Needs
Decades of reunion arguments boil down to about five rows of the chart:
- Mom or dad's cousin → your first cousin once removed (not your second cousin).
- Your cousin's child → also your first cousin once removed (the full story).
- Your cousin's child and your child → second cousins to each other.
- Grandma's sister → your great-aunt (grand-aunt is equally correct).
- Grandma's sister's grandchild → your second cousin — you're both great-grandchildren of the same couple.
Memorize those and you're the family authority. For everything weirder — "my great-grandpa's cousin's granddaughter" — the cousin chart method or the calculator picks up where memory stops.
Printing Tips: Make It Reunion-Ready
A relationship chart earns its keep on paper, next to the guest book, where three generations can argue over it lovingly. Suggestions from families who've done it:
- Print landscape, one page. The blood-relative table above fits a landscape Letter/A4 sheet at readable size. Laminate it if your reunions involve barbecue sauce.
- Add your own names. Before printing, pencil real family members into a few rows ("First cousin once removed — e.g., Uncle Pete's grandson Tyler"). Abstract charts click instantly when one row has a familiar face.
- Post it where the bottleneck is. The kitchen doorway and the drinks table are where "how are we related?" conversations actually happen.
- Pair it with a QR code to the calculator. Print a small QR linking to the free tool in the corner — the chart answers the common cases, the phone handles the exotic ones.
Turn the Chart Into a Reunion Game
The fastest way to get a family fluent in its own structure is to make the chart competitive. Three formats that work across ages:
- "Name That Relative." One person picks two people at the gathering ("Grandma Lucy and baby Mateo") and everyone races to name the exact relationship. Chart-checking allowed; the calculator referees disputes. First to five wins the last slice of pie.
- The generation line-up. Have everyone physically stand in generation rows — grandparents' generation, parents', kids'. Suddenly "removed" is visible: anyone you're pointing at diagonally is a removed cousin, anyone in your own row is a plain cousin. Kids grasp it in one round.
- Mystery ancestor. Read a fact about a shared ancestor ("she came from Palermo in 1912") and have players work out what that person is to them — great-great-grandmother to some rows, great-great-great to the littlest. Sneaky genealogy lesson included free.
Beyond the fun, these games do something quietly valuable: they attach the abstract terms to faces while the older generation is still there to confirm who's who. Plenty of family historians trace their obsession to exactly one afternoon like this.
Why the Names Are Worth Knowing
Beyond winning the potato-salad debate:
- DNA test season. When AncestryDNA says "2nd cousin — 210 cM," the chart is how you shortlist who that could be.
- Medical history forms. Doctors ask about conditions "in first-degree relatives" and beyond; precise labels keep the record accurate.
- Wills and inheritance. Intestacy law distributes property by exact relationship; "cousin once removed" and "second cousin" can sit in different places in line.
- Storytelling. "Your great-great-aunt Rosa crossed the Atlantic alone at 19" hits differently when everyone knows exactly where Rosa sits on the tree.
Quick answer: A family relationship chart is read by generation rows. You sit in the middle row. Everyone above you is an older generation (parents, grandparents), everyone below is a younger one (children, grandchildren), and everyone in your own row is a sibling or cousin. To make one for your family, fill in your own row first, then work up one row at a time, then down.
How to Read a Family Relationship Chart
Every family relationship chart, printed or hand-drawn, works on the same two ideas.
- Rows are generations. A row holds people who are the same number of steps from the shared ancestors. Age doesn't decide the row. Your cousin who is 20 years older than you still sits in your row.
- Columns are branches. Each child of the couple at the top starts a branch that runs straight down the page. Your branch is the one that leads to you.
Once you see those two ideas, reading the chart is simple. Find yourself. Find the other person. Count how many rows apart you are, then trace up both branches until they meet at a shared ancestor. The number of rows up to that meeting point is what decides the relationship. The chart above gives you the names, and our guide to what to call every relative goes deeper on each title.
How the Generations Line Up
It helps to number the rows, with you as row 0:
| Row | Who sits there |
|---|---|
| +3 | Great-grandparents, and their brothers and sisters |
| +2 | Grandparents, great-aunts, great-uncles |
| +1 | Parents, aunts, uncles, your parents' cousins |
| 0 | You, your siblings, and all your cousins |
| −1 | Your children, nieces, nephews, your cousins' children |
| −2 | Grandchildren, great-nieces, great-nephews |
The row number tells you one useful thing right away. Any blood relative in row 0 other than your brothers and sisters is a plain cousin of some kind. A cousin who sits in a different row is a "removed" cousin, and the number of rows between you is how many times removed. For a closer look at how generations are counted, see family generations explained.
How to Fill In a Chart for Your Own Family
- Start a blank chart with your row. Write your name in the middle, then your brothers and sisters beside you.
- Go up one row. Add your parents above you. Put your dad's side on one half of the page and your mom's side on the other, and keep it that way. Our page on maternal vs. paternal relatives explains why the two sides stay separate.
- Add your parents' brothers and sisters in that same row, each next to the right parent.
- Drop their children into your row. These are your first cousins, and they belong in row 0 no matter how old they are.
- Keep climbing. Add grandparents in row +2, then their siblings beside them.
- Add married-in family last. Spouses, step-relatives, and in-laws go beside the person they're connected to, with a different line style so no one mistakes them for blood relatives.
If you'd rather start from a printed layout, a blank family tree template gives you the empty boxes, and you can use the steps above to fill them.
Worked Example: Where Does Cousin Dana Go?
Sam is 30. His mom, Lisa, has an older sister, Carol. Carol's daughter Dana is 48, older than some of Sam's aunts. Where does Dana go?
- Sam writes himself in row 0 and his mom, Lisa, in row +1.
- Carol is Lisa's sister, so Carol goes in row +1, next to Lisa.
- Dana is Carol's child. Children always go one row below their parent, so Dana lands in row 0, right beside Sam.
- Sam and Dana share grandparents, and they're in the same row, so they're first cousins. The 18-year age gap doesn't change a thing.
Now say Dana has a son, Leo. Leo goes in row −1. He's one row away from Sam on the cousin side, so he's Sam's first cousin once removed. If you ever get stuck on a chain like this, the relationship calculator will place both people and name the link.
Common Mix-Ups When Filling In a Chart
- Placing people by age. This is the big one. Row is set by parents and children, never by birthdays.
- Mixing up the two sides. If your mom's cousins end up on your dad's half of the page, the branches cross and every line gets confusing.
- Putting in-laws on blood lines. An aunt by marriage belongs in the right row, but connected by a marriage line, not a parent-child line.
- Drawing step and half the same way. A half-sibling shares a parent, so connect them to that parent. A stepsibling connects only through a marriage. Our step-family relationship chart shows one clear way to draw both.
FAQ
What is a family relationship chart?
A reference table that names every type of relative — cousins, greats, in-laws, steps — based on how they connect to you through ancestors and marriages. Genealogists also call the cousin-specific version a cousin chart or canon-law relationship chart.
What do I call my mom's cousin?
Your first cousin once removed — one generation above you on the first-cousin line. Her children are your second cousins.
What's the difference between a great-aunt and a grand-aunt?
Nothing — both mean your grandparent's sister. "Grand-aunt" is technically more consistent (she's the same generation as your grandparents), but "great-aunt" is far more common. Use either.
Is my aunt's husband my uncle?
In everyday usage, yes — he's your uncle by marriage. He shares no DNA with you, which only matters for genetics and inheritance questions, not for family life.
What do half-siblings count as on a family chart?
Full blood relatives who share one parent instead of two — about 25% shared DNA. Their children are your half-nieces and half-nephews. "Half" describes the connection, not the closeness.
Is there a chart for cousins specifically?
Yes — the classic cousin chart grid, which maps cousin degree and "removed" from your shared ancestor. We walk through it square by square in how to read a cousin chart, or the free calculator reads it for you.
How do I fill in a blank family relationship chart?
Write yourself in the middle row first, then add siblings beside you. Work up one generation at a time (parents, then grandparents), then down to children and grandchildren. Add spouses and step-relatives last, next to the person they married into the family through.
Why is my older cousin in the same row as me?
Rows on a family chart show generations, not ages. Your first cousin is the child of your parent's sibling, so they're the same number of steps from your shared grandparents as you are, even if they're decades older.
What's the difference between a family relationship chart and a family tree?
A family tree records your actual relatives with names and dates. A family relationship chart shows the pattern of how any two relatives connect and what the relationship is called. Many people use the chart to label the people on their tree.
How many generations should my chart show?
For everyday use, five rows is plenty: grandparents, parents, your row, children, and grandchildren. If you're sorting out second or third cousins, add rows for great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, since those are the shared ancestors.
Should step-relatives and in-laws go on the same chart?
Yes, if they're part of your family life. Put them in the right generation row, but connect them with a marriage line instead of a parent-child line so the chart stays accurate.
One Chart on the Fridge, One Tool in Your Pocket
Every relative has an exact name, and now you have both versions of the answer key: the printable chart for the wall, and the free family relationship calculator for everything the chart can't fit — the four-link chains, the double connections, the "okay but what's HER daughter to MY grandson" follow-ups. Print one, bookmark the other, and enjoy being the person at the reunion who actually knows.
