Cousins

What is a second cousin once removed?

A second cousin once removed is a second cousin from a different generation: your second cousin's child, or your parent's second cousin.

The shared ancestors are great-grandparents to one of you and great-great-grandparents to the other: 3 generations down on one side, 4 on the other.

Two ways to be one

Find the ancestors you share and count the generations from them down to each of you: 3 and 4.
The smaller number minus one gives the cousin degree: 3 minus 1 is 2, so "second".
The difference between the two numbers is how many times "removed": 4 minus 3 is 1, so "once removed".

The second cousin once removed square is marked. Rows are you, columns your relative.

You are the ancestor's…	Child	Grandchild	Great-grandchild	2x great-grandchild	3x great-grandchild	4x great-grandchild
Child	Sibling	Niece or nephew	Grandniece or grandnephew	Great-grandniece or nephew	Great-great-grandniece or nephew	Great-great-great-grandniece or nephew
Grandchild	Aunt or uncle	First cousin	First cousin once removed	First cousin twice removed	First cousin three times removed	First cousin four times removed
Great-grandchild	Great-aunt or uncle	First cousin once removed	Second cousin	Second cousin once removed	Second cousin twice removed	Second cousin three times removed
2x great-grandchild	Great-great-aunt or uncle	First cousin twice removed	Second cousin once removed	Third cousin	Third cousin once removed	Third cousin twice removed
3x great-grandchild	Great-great-great-aunt or uncle	First cousin three times removed	Second cousin twice removed	Third cousin once removed	Fourth cousin	Fourth cousin once removed
4x great-grandchild	Great-great-great-great-aunt or uncle	First cousin four times removed	Second cousin three times removed	Third cousin twice removed	Fourth cousin once removed	Fifth cousin