What does it mean to have a cousin 'removed'?

Question

I've had people introduce me to their family with phrases like 'he's my third cousin, twice removed". What does that mean?

Answer 1

The phrase is usually "first cousin, once removed". The "once removed" actually means "one generation removed". Do you have cousins? You and your cousins are from the same generation in your family since you are the children of siblings. If your cousin had a child, that child would be your "first cousin, once removed", meaning one generation removed.



When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to describe your relationship.



The words "once removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example, your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation difference equals "once removed."



Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations younger than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your grandmother's first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.



Here are a couple of links to help you with it.

Answer 2

A first cousin is your aunt or uncles children. Your children and their children are second cousins. The children of the second cousins are third cousins.

Your cousin's children are first cousins once removed to you. The second counsins children would be first cousins twice removed to you. Each removed means the generations are off by one.

Just remember cousins are at the same generation, cousins removed are different generations.

I have a chart at my web site you can play with.

http://www.geocities.com/denmarks/relative.html

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Answer 3

If he is a third cousin twice removed obviousy the first two didn't work out or....



What is a First Cousin, Twice Removed?

by Genealogy.com

If someone walked up to you and said "Howdy, I'm your third cousin, twice removed," would you have any idea what they meant? Most people have a good understanding of basic relationship words such as "mother," "father," "aunt," "uncle," "brother," and "sister." But what about the relationship terms that we don't use in everyday speech? Terms like "second cousin" and "first cousin, once removed"? We don't tend to speak about our relationships in such exact terms ("cousin" seems good enough when you are introducing one person to another), so most of us aren't familiar with what these words mean.



Relationship Terms

Sometimes, especially when working on your family history, it's handy to know how to describe your family relationships more exactly. The definitions below should help you out.



Cousin (a.k.a "first cousin")

Your first cousins are the people in your family who have two of the same grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your aunts and uncles.



Second Cousin

Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same great-grandparents as you., but not the same grandparents.



Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins

Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.



Removed

When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to describe your relationship.



The words "once removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example, your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation difference equals "once removed."



Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations younger than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your grandmother's first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.



Relationship Charts Simplify Everything

Now that you have an idea of what these different words mean, take a look at the chart below. It's called a relationship chart, and it can help you figure out how different people in your family are related. It's much simpler than it looks, just follow the instructions.



Instructions for Using a Relationship Chart



Pick two people in your family and figure out which ancestor they have in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a cousin, you would have a grandparent in common.

Look at the top row of the chart and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestor.

Look at the far left column of the chart and find the second person's relationship to the common ancestor.

Determine where the row and column containing those two relationships meet.

Common

Ancestor Child Grandchild G-grandchild G-g-grandchild

Child Sister or Brother Nephew or Niece Grand-nephew or niece G-grand-nephew or niece

Grandchild Nephew or Niece First cousin First cousin, once removed First cousin, twice removed

G-grandchild Grand-nephew or niece First cousin, once removed Second cousin Second cousin, once removed

G-g-grandchild G-grand-nephew or niece First cousin, twice removed Second cousin, once removed Third cousin



Just When You Thought You Had it

When you are working with older records, be aware that the meaning of the word "cousin," along with the meanings of other relationship terms, have changed over time. The Glossary section of the Learning Center can help you with any confusing relationship terms, including those in Latin.

Answer 4

Removed mean once removed from a common ancestor , twice removed from common ancestor etc....removed being how many generations are between you and your relative when you last shared an ancestor.



Here it is from the link I found below:



kinship terminology is a relative with whom one shares a common grandparent or more distant ancestor, and who is not in one's own line of descent. The term cousin never applies where there are other specific terms to describe relationships.



A system of degrees and removes is used to describe the relationship between the two cousins and the ancestor they have in common. The degree (first, second, third cousin, etc.) indicates the minimum number of generations separating either cousin from the nearest common ancestor; the remove (once removed, twice removed, etc.) indicates the number of generations, if any, separating the two cousins from each other.



For example, if person A and B share a great grandparent as their nearest common ancestor, they are second cousins, because two generations (the parents and grandparents) separate each of them from the great grandparent.



If person A's great grandparent is person B's grandparent, then they are first cousins once removed, "first" because there is only one generation between B and his or her grandparent and "once removed" because there is a further generation between A and that same ancestor.



So, in this system, the child of one's aunt or uncle is one's first cousin. The child of one's first cousin is one's first cousin once removed.



The system can handle kinships going back many generations. In 2004, genealogists discovered that U.S. Presidential candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry shared a common ancestral couple in the 1500s. It was reported that the two men are sixteenth cousins, three times removed.[1] However, the two are in fact ninth cousins, two times removed.[2]



Non-genealogical usage often eliminates the degrees and removes, and refers to people with common ancestors merely as cousins or distant cousins.

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Answer 5

It just means he's the third cousin that they had to call the cops on twice and have him removed cause he was so drunk and obnoxious.

Answer 6

i think that means like he was your cousin through a marriage.

like, i have a uncle who got married, but she already has a kid from a diffrent guy.if my uncle and her got divorced, my once cousin would be my cousin removed.

Answer 7

It depends on the reason why you had your cousin removed. What did he/she do to deseerve it?

Answer 8

this has to do with how distantly the are related... someone asked this a few days ago, with a really clear answer....

Answer 9

it means you had him killed :)