Calculating the relationship between two people is often a confusing issue. There are lots of tables and charts that try to alleviate this situation, but often they just make things more complicated. I developed the following programs in an attempt to make this process easier. The Internet Cousin Calculator runs right from your browser (assuming your browser can handle JavaScript), and you can download the DOS and Windows based versions to run as stand-alone applications. I've also provided one version of a cousin chart below (see Boring tabular version, below).
See Cousins & Kinship at CyndisList.com for related links.
Boring tabular version
From CompuServe's Genealogy Forum
On the top row, find the relationship of one person to the common ancestor and follow the column straight down. Find the other persons relationship to the common ancestor on the left hand column and follow that row straight across. The relationship is where the projected row and column meet.
| CA | Common Ancestor | S | Sibling (brother or sister) |
| C | Child | N | Niece/Nephew |
| GC | Grand Child | GN | Grand Niece/Nephew |
| GGC | Great Grand Child | GGN | Great Grand Niece/Nephew |
| #C | # Cousin (1C - 1st cousin, 2C - 2nd cousin, etc.) | ||
| #R | # of times removed (1R - once removed, 2R - twice removed, etc.) | ||
(Based on the system used by courts and most genealogical societies.)
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 0 | CA | C | GC | GGC | 2 GGC | 3 GGC | 4 GGC | 5 GGC | 6 GGC | 7 GGC | 8 GGC |
| 1 | C | S | N | GN | GGN | 2 GGN | 3 GGN | 4 GGN | 5 GGN | 6 GGN | 7 GGN |
| 2 | GC | N | 1C | 1C 1R | 1C 2R | 1C 3R | 1C 4R | 1C 5R | 1C 6R | 1C 7R | 1C 8R |
| 3 | GGC | GN | 1C 1R | 2C | 2C 1R | 2C 2R | 2C 3R | 2C 4R | 2C 5R | 2C 6R | 2C 7R |
| 4 | 2 GGC | GGN | 1C 2R | 2C 1R | 3C | 3C 1R | 3C 2R | 3C 3R | 3C 4R | 3C 5R | 3C 6R |
| 5 | 3 GGC | 2 GGN | 1C 3R | 2C 2R | 3C 1R | 4C | 4C 1R | 4C 2R | 4C 3R | 4C 4R | 4C 5R |
| 6 | 4 GGC | 3 GGN | 1C 4R | 2C 3R | 3C 2R | 4C 1R | 5C | 5C 1R | 5C 2R | 5C 3R | 5C 4R |
| 7 | 5 GGC | 4 GGN | 1C 5R | 2C 4R | 3C 3R | 4C 2R | 5C 1R | 6C | 6C 1R | 6C 2R | 6C 3R |
| 8 | 6 GGC | 5 GGN | 1C 6R | 2C 5R | 3C 4R | 4C 3R | 5C 2R | 6C 1R | 7C | 7C 1R | 7C 2R |
| 9 | 7 GGC | 6 GGN | 1C 7R | 2C 6R | 3C 5R | 4C 4R | 5C 3R | 6C 2R | 7C 1R | 8C | 8C 1R |
| 10 | 8 GGC | 7 GGN | 1C 8R | 2C 7R | 3C 6R | 4C 5R | 5C 4R | 6C 3R | 7C 2R | 8C 1R | 9C |