Degrees of Kinship

Defining Relationships

Kinship - the Right Name for the Distant Cousin

For information only ............. this was found on the web - I have not compiled it myself

Your first cousin is your parents' brother's or sister's child. However, the first cousin's child is not your second cousin, but your first cousin one removed. The child of the first cousin once removed is your first cousin twice removed, and his child is your first cousin three times removed.

Your second cousin is your grandparents' brother's or sister's grandchild. That second cousin's child is your second cousin once removed, and his child is your second cousin twice removed, and so on.

Your third cousin is your great-grandparents' brother's or sister's great-grandchild. The third cousin's child is your third cousin once removed, and his child is your third cousin twice removed.

Occasionally Misunderstood Terms

Siblings: Parents in common, brothers and sisters

Grandnephew and Grandniece: the grandchild of your brother or sister

Grandaunt or Granduncle: the brother or sister of your grandparent

Great-Grandaunt or Great-Granduncle: the sister or brother of your great-grandparents

Stepfather or Stepmother: the husband of your mother or the wife of your father by a subsequent marriage

Stepchild: the child of your husband or wife by a former marriage

Stepsister or Stepbrother: the child of your stepfather or stepmother

Half Sister or Half Brother: the child of your mother and stepfather or the child of your father and stepmother, or of either parent by a former marriage

In-Laws: your connections by the law of marriage (as distinct from relatives by blood) in particular, your husband's or wife's relatives and your own brother's wife or sister's husband

Ancestor: the person from whom you descend directly, such as a grandparent or a great-grandparent

Descendant: the person who descends directly from you, such as a grandson or granddaughter

Lineal Relations: those in a direct line of ascent or descent, such as a grandfather or granddaughter

Collateral Relations: those relatives who are linked by a common ancestor, such as aunts, uncles, or cousins

Connexions: those who have a relative in common but who are not themselves related by blood.

Now the Easy Version

Brothers and Sisters Siblings

Children 1st Cousins

Grandchildren 2nd Cousins

Great grandchildren 3rd Cousins

Gt Gt grandchildren 4th Cousins

Gt Gt Gt grandchildren 5th Cousins

Gt Gt Gt Gt grandchildren 6th Cousins

One generation before or after, is Once Removed

Two generations before/after are Twice Removed etc.

These days most people do not use the term Grand niece or Grand nephew, or Grand Great Niece etc. The word Grand has been popularly replaced by Great.

Prohibited Marriages

Forbidden Degrees of Relationship

Throughout the United Kingdom and the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, the law forbids certain blood relatives, step-relatives and relatives-in-law from getting married. These restrictions are officially know as forbidden degrees of relationship. The prohibitions apply to illegitimate as well as legitimate relationships. There are exceptions relating to certain step-relatives and relatives-in-law, which are explained later in this article.

A man may not marry his:

Mother (also step-mother, former step-mother, mother-in-law, former mother-in-law, adoptive mother or former adoptive mother)

Daughter (also step-daughter, former step-daughter, daughter-in-law, former daughter-in-law, adoptive daughter or former adoptive daughter)

Sister (also half-sister)

Father's mother (grandmother)

Mother's mother (grandmother)

Father's father's former wife (step-grandmother)

Mother's father's former wife (step-grandmother)

Son's daughter (granddaughter)

Daughter's daughter (granddaughter)

Wife's son's daughter (step-granddaughter)

Wife's daughter's daughter (step-granddaughter)

Son's son's wife (grandson's wife)

Daughter's son's wife (grandson's wife)

Father's sister (aunt)

Mother's sister (aunt)

Brother's daughter (niece)

Sister's daughter (niece)

A woman may not marry her:

Father (also step-father, former step-father, father-in-law, former father-in-law, adoptive father or former adoptive father)

Son (also step-son, former step-son, son-in-law, former son-in-law, adoptive son or former adoptive son)

Brother (also half-brother or step-brother)

Father's father (grandfather)

Mother's father (grandfather)

Mother's mother's former husband (step-grandfather)

Father's mother's former husband (step-grandfather)

Son's son (grandson)

Daughter's son (grandson)

Husband's daughter's son (step grandson)

Husband's son's son (step grandson)

Son's daughter's husband (granddaughter's husband)

Daughter's daughter's husband (granddaughter's husband)

Father's brother (uncle)

Mother's brother (uncle)

Brother's son (nephew)

Sister's son (nephew)

In Scotland, a man may not marry his great-grandmother or great-granddaughter and a woman may not marry her great-grandfather or great-grandson.

Other Prohibitions

You cannot get married in the UK or the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man if either of you are under the age of 16. Please read our article on minimum age and parental consent for details of the parental consent requirements.

You must both also be free to marry, that is, not already married and you must also be of different sex at birth. This applies even if one of you has undergone gender modification surgery.

Exceptions for Certain Step-Relatives and Relatives-in-Law In England, Scotland and Wales (not Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey) the Marriage Act, 1986, allows for certain step-relatives and relatives-in-law to marry.

Step-Relatives Step-relatives may marry provided they are at least 21 years of age. The younger of the couple must at no time before the age of 18 have lived in the same household as the older person. Neither must they have been treated as a child of the older person's family.

Relatives-in-Law Although a man may marry his sister-in-law and a woman may marry her brother-in-law, other relatives-in-law may marry provided they are at least 21 years of age and the family members involved in creating the in-law relationship are both dead. For example, if a man wishes to marry his daughter-in-law, both his son and his son's mother must be dead. In England and Wales, marriages under this Act are not permitted with the calling of banns but can take place in a church on the authority of a superintendent registrar's certificate without licence.

Marriage of Cousins Despite the long list of degrees of forbidden relationship, you can marry a cousin (courtesy of Henry VIII who changed the law to marry his cousin!). However, it would be sensible for you both to consult your GP to ensure that there are no factors in your family's health records that would make your decision to have children inadvisable on medical grounds.

Further Information If you are still unsure of your situation and require further clarification of whom you can and cannot marry, please contact a registrar. You can usually find details of your local register office under the entry of Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages in your telephone directory. Alternatively, you can telephone the relevant national office asking for the marriages section.

Their telephone numbers are:

Registrar General for England and Wales 01704-569824

General Register Office for Scotland 0131-314 4447

General Register Office for Northern Ireland 028-9025 2000

Registrar General for Guernsey 01481-725277

Superintendent Registrar for Jersey 01534-502335

General Register Office for the Isle of Man, 01624-687039

You can marry a step-sibling - as long you are 21 or over, and as long as you were not raised in the same household from childhood:

'Step-relatives may marry provided they are at least 21 years of age. The younger of the couple must at no time before the age of 18 have lived in the same household as the older person. Neither must they have been treated as a child of the older person's family'.

It is permissible for a man to marry his mother in law as long as his wife is deceased - its the same principle as a man wishing to marry his daughter in law --- both his son and the mans wife must be deceased :

'Although a man may marry his sister-in-law and a woman may marry her brother-in-law ......................................... other relatives-in-law may marry provided they are at least 21 years of age and the family members involved in creating the in-law relationship are both dead. For example, if a man wishes to marry his daughter-in-law, both his son and his son's mother must be dead. In England and Wales, marriages under this Act are not permitted with the calling of banns but can take place in a church on the authority of a superintendent registrar's certificate without licence.

These marriages cannot take place in a church but are allowed in a register office.

The 1907 Marriage Act removed no. 17 from the original forbidden list (Wife's sister and Husband's brother), provided the first spouse in each case was deceased. Further changes followed in 1921, 1931 and 1949:

The 1921 Marriage Act removed no. 18 (Brother's wife and Sister's husband) provided brother or sister in each case was deceased.

The 1931 Marriage Act removed 6, 7, 8 and 9 (Aunt-in-law and Uncle-in-law) and 27, 28, 29 and 30 (Niece-in-law and Nephew-in-law), provided the relevant Uncle, Aunt, Niece, and Nephew were dead.

The 1949 Marriage Act confirmed the previous 3 acts and specifically included 'half blood' relatives.