Family Trees and Twisted Branches: A Guide to Figuring Out Who’s Who

Ah, family—like the branches of an old oak tree, twisting and turning with shared DNA, long-told stories, and the occasional debate over who really makes the best potato salad. If you’ve ever sat through a family reunion and wondered, Wait… how exactly am I related to this person?—you’re not alone. Family relations are basically a giant puzzle with way too many pieces, and just when you think you’ve got it figured out, someone throws in a “once removed” and ruins everything.

So, let’s break it down in simple terms—because calling everyone “Cousin” and hoping for the best can only get you so far.

Greats, Grands, and Generational Gymnastics

• Parents, siblings, and first cousins? Easy. No explanation needed. 

• Grandparents? The wise ones who probably still have hard candy somewhere in their pockets.

• Great-grandparents? Basically grandparents, but with even better stories and the ability to start a sentence with, Back in my day…

• Great-aunts and great-uncles? These are your grandparents’ siblings, which means they are one step up from your regular aunts and uncles. Not necessarily “greater” in personality, but definitely in age.

Cousins: The Math Gets Weird Here

• First cousins – Your parents’ siblings’ kids. Simple.

• Second cousins – Your grandparents’ siblings’ grandkids. So, you share great-grandparents.

• Third cousins – Your great-grandparents’ siblings’ great-grandkids. If you see each other once a decade at a wedding and pretend to recognize each other, that’s probably a third cousin.

And then, just when you think you’ve mastered this cousin business, someone throws in “once removed.”

What in the World is “Once Removed”?

• “Removed” just means you’re a different number of generations away.

• Your mom’s first cousin? First cousin once removed.

• Your grandma’s first cousin? First cousin twice removed.

• Your second cousin’s kid? Second cousin once removed.

Basically, if they feel like a cousin but also somehow older or younger than they should be, throw in a “removed” and hope for the best.

At Penny & Rose’s Farm, Family Was Family

Of course, at Penny & Rose’s farm, none of this mattered one bit. Over the summer, we had a steady stream of visitors—so many that we should’ve installed a revolving door on the front porch. Every day, a car would rumble down the country road, and we’d all gather on the porch, watching the one stretch of road we could see through the trees, trying to guess who it was. “That’s Uncle Wayne’s car.” “No, it’s Cousin Linda.” “Wait… do we have a Cousin Linda?”

By the time they pulled up, it didn’t really matter. Great-aunt, second cousin, third cousin twice removed—who cared? The only thing that mattered was that they were family. And as we all pitched in to unload coolers of food and baskets of homemade pies, we knew one thing for sure: summer at the farm wasn’t about who was who on the family tree. It was about being together. And maybe, just maybe, winning the argument over who made the best potato salad.

Pictured here: cousins. First cousins. Not removed. Grandchildren of Penny and Rose. Twice as loud, three times as hungry, and 100% confused about what ‘once removed’ actually means. But hey, it’s family!

Got a wild branch on your family tree? A cousin twice removed who just won’t stay removed? Drop your stories in the comments—we’re here for all the twists and turns!

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