What is a Cousin?

Cousins have unique relationships in our family history research. When is a cousin more than a cousin? What kind of cousin are they? How do I figure out those specific relationships? With the rise in popularity of DNA testing and the resulting match lists, we need to know how we relate to individuals beyond saying, "This is my cousin."

A good resource for calculating cousin relationships can be found at FamilySearch's Cousin Chart.

To further understand the family dynamics as related to genealogy research, consider the National Institute for Genealogical Studies course: Methodology - Part 1: Getting Started.