Free Family Relationship Chart

How to Use This Template

1. Print the chart and keep it with your family history records.
2. Use it to correctly label relationships on your family tree.
3. Refer to it when filling in genealogy forms and research worksheets.

About This Template

Family relationship terminology is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of genealogy. Most people know what a grandparent, aunt, or first cousin is — but terms like "second cousin once removed", "great-aunt", or "half-sibling" often cause confusion, and using incorrect terms in research records leads to errors that compound over time.

This reference chart provides a clear overview of all standard family relationship terms. Keep it alongside your pedigree charts and family group sheets as a quick-reference guide. It is particularly useful when transcribing information from old documents, which may use formal or archaic relationship terms, or when interpreting DNA match relationship predictions from services like AncestryDNA or 23andMe.

The chart covers: immediate family (parents, siblings, children), grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, in-law relationships, step relationships, and half relationships. Cousin relationships by degree and "removed" status are covered in the companion Cousin Relationship Chart.

Common Relationship Terms Explained

• Great-aunt / great-uncle — your grandparent's sibling (not "grand-aunt")
• First cousin — the child of your parent's sibling; you share a set of grandparents
• Second cousin — the child of your parent's first cousin; you share a set of great-grandparents
• Once removed — a one-generation difference; your first cousin's child is your first cousin once removed
• Half-sibling — shares one parent with you, but not both
• Step-sibling — the child of a parent's spouse, with no biological relationship to you
• In-law — related through marriage, not blood; "once removed" does not apply to in-law relationships