What Is The Difference Between Second Cousin Vs Cousin Once Removed?

By Samantha in Parenting On 4th June 2022
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Luckily, we now have a handy chart to bookmark in my web browser so that I never forget again. You’ll find it useful, too, especially if you have a family reunion coming up soon.

This chart was designed by Alice J. Ramsey in 1987, but her advice still stands today.

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Here’s how to use the chart: Start from the “Self” box, and then trace your way to the relationship you are trying to name.

It is always tricky to remember who my mom's cousins' children are to me and so with the help of this chart, I can see that they are my second cousins. And their kids? My second cousins once removed. Their kids? Second cousins twice removed.

Alice J. Ramsey
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Once Removed—What Does It Mean?

The chart helps us in giving a visual depiction of what “once removed” really means.

Well, it is quite easy that you and all of your cousins, including those second and third cousins, all belong to the same generation. However, when you switch into different generations, they are then labeled as “once” or “twice” removed — what that really means is one generation removed, according to the chart.

“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, ” according to an article on Genealogy. “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.”

I know the information feels too overwhelming, but once you look at the chart carefully, it will all make sense. 

Alice J. Ramsey
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Why Are We So Interested In Our Roots?

So there you have it. You’ll never be cousin-confused again — or if you are, just refer to them all as cousins and call it a day!

All this chart reading and understanding makes us question why our roots interest us so much? Well, you know that there are hundreds of websites and services you can use to trace your family’s history — we’ve all heard of Ancestry.com and 23andMe. But why are we so fascinated with our family trees?

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According to scientists, we have an instinctual urge to learn more about our family members because we share the same genes.

As a matter of fact, the interest in our ancestry is partly shaped by evolutionary forces, Beverly Strassmann, a University of Michigan anthropologist, told LiveScience.

Humans care about family members because they share some of our genes.

Alice J. Ramsey
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“People can pass on their genes either by having their own offspring or by helping their kin to reproduce,” Strassmann said.

So the reason why people are so interested in your love life and when you will give birth is all because of biology.

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Infact, our interest in genealogy may also be derived from royalty. People needed to understand their ancestry to justify their position in society or on the throne.

“The fascination goes back to antiquity,” Eviatar Zerubavel, a sociologist at Rutgers University, told LiveScience. “Royalty, for example, and nobility were very obsessed with creating genealogies that would link them to heroes.”