What is a first cousin?
First cousins share a set of grandparents and are the same number of generations below them. Their parents are siblings.
You both descend from the same grandparents, each of you 2 generations down.
An example
- Your aunt's or uncle's child is your first cousin.
How to work it out
- Find the ancestors you share and count the generations from them down to each of you: 2 and 2.
- The smaller number minus one gives the cousin degree: 2 minus 1 is 1, so "first".
- The difference between the two numbers is how many times "removed": 2 minus 2 is 0, so not removed.