What is the difference between a second cousin and a cousin once removed?

Question

I know this is a silly questions but what is a second cousin & what is a cousin once removed?

I can't remember what the difference is ....

(Please only serious answers) Thanks!!

Answer 1

A second cousin to you would be your parents first cousin.  Or your your first cousin's child.

A cousin once removed would be a cousin that isn't blood related to you, that has been removed from your family by divorce or death.

Answer 2

April is wrong. Adair is right but I use a different method for remembering. You'll have to decide which works best for you.

When first cousins have children, those cousins are second cousins to each other. When second cousins have children, those children are third cousins to each other. You just keep adding.

Removed is when cousins are up or down generations from you. Your parents' cousins (1st, 2nd, 3rd . . .) are yours too, only once removed. Your grandparents' cousins are yours twice removed.

Your cousins' children will be yours once removed. Their grandchildren will be yours twice removed.

Most people don't know all of their second cousins and it is a rare person who knows any of his third or fourth cousins. Most people don't know anyone further removed than twice, unless GGGGG grandpa was 1st cousin to George Washington, Robert E Lee, Daniel Boone . . . .

Answer 3

The first person who answered is an idiot.  Removed does not have anything to do with divorces.  Not only that, but "by marriage" relationships do not really extend that far into the other person's family tree.  My first cousin's relatives on their mothers side is my family also because my mother and their mother are sisters.  However, their father is only my uncle because he married my mother's sister.  He is not a blood relative, and therefore, NONE of his relatives are considered a part of my family tree.  So my cousin's cousin on their father's side is NOT related to me, not even by marriage.

First, you have to determine who the COMMON ancestor is between you and that person.  I assume you know who your first cousin is (your parents siblings children).  This means that you and those kids have the same grandparents.  Ok, when those first cousins have kids, their kids will be your first cousin once removed.  That is because they are ONE generation different to the COMMON ancestor than you are.  Your grandparent is their great-grandparent.  When you have kids, your kids and your first cousins once removed would be 2nd cousins to each other.  That is because they are the SAME generation distance from the common ancestor.  Their common ancestor is their great-grandparents.

People who have the same grandparents are first cousins

People who have the same great-grandparents are 2nd cousins

People who have the same great-great-grandparents are 3rd cousins.  And it goes on and on.

Removed comes in when their is a difference in relationship two people have to the common ancestor.  If a common ancestor is one person's great-grandparent and is the other person's great-great-grandparent, then there is a "removed" difference in their relationship, so they would be 2nd cousin once removed.

Clear as mud, I'm sure.

Use this chart to help you out:

http://genealogy.about.com/library/nrela...