What is genealogical distance?

Answer 1

The word “distance” when used with genealogy generally refers to the degree of relationship of two or more people. People are related when they share a common ancestor. The specific words used to describe these relationships vary from country to country and from language to language. In English, people who share the same parents are said to be siblings, that is brothers and sisters and your parents’ parents are your grandparents. The siblings or brothers and sisters of your parents are usually called aunts and uncles. Children of your aunts and uncles are your first cousins. We use the term “great-grandparents” to show a more distant relationship. Your great-grandparents would be the parents of your grandparents. They siblings would be called your great-aunts or great-uncles and their children would be your second cousins. As we go back with each generation, the distance of the genealogical relationship increases. The designations for cousins increments from first, to second, to third and so forth depending on the number of generations back to the common ancestor. As the distance to the common ancestor increases, the number of steps you need to count increases and the relationship becomes more remote. For example, by the time you account for fourth or fifth cousins, you would have to have a common ancestor who was back in your family tree three or four generations. Your 4th Great-Grandparents’ children would either be your direct line grandparents, or they would be great-uncles and great-aunts. Their children would be your Fourth Cousins. That is you have to go back four generations to find the common ancestor. Fourth cousins and any more distant, would be considered distant cousins or distant relatives.