Daily AncestorFourth cousin
A fourth cousin is a relative who shares great-great-great-grandparents with you, but no closer ancestors.
Fourth cousins descend from the same great-great-great-grandparents, also written 3rd great-grandparents. Their parents were third cousins.
The counting rule still works: three greats plus one makes fourth cousins. A family history that calls someone a fourth cousin is making a claim you can test with records for each step, five generations down from the shared couple on each side.
As seen in a recordStatement in a published family genealogy, 1890s
said Abijah Throop and myself being fourth cousins, descended from Joel Throop
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Fourth cousin." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/relationships/fourth-cousin. Last checked 2026-10-12.