Print an Ahnentafel ancestor report
An Ahnentafel (German for "ancestor table") is a list of one person's direct ancestors, numbered so that every number tells you where that ancestor sits. It holds the same information as a pedigree chart, written as text, so a long line prints on a few pages and is easy to quote in a letter or paste into a research note. Its companion going the other way is the descendant register: one ancestor's descendants, family by family.
Draw My Tree prints both from the tree you already have, ready for your browser's print dialog or to save as a PDF.
How Ahnentafel numbering works
- 1 is the person the list is about.
- A father is twice his child's number. A mother is twice plus one.
- So 2 is the father and 3 the mother; 4 and 5 are the father's parents, 6 and 7 the mother's.
Each generation starts at a power of two: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. From any number you can find the child (halve it, dropping any remainder) or the parents (double it, and double it plus one) without looking anything up. Where each couple is a father and a mother with their genders recorded, men other than the first person get even numbers and women odd ones; a parent whose gender is not recorded, or one of two parents of the same gender, takes whichever of the two numbers is free.
When cousins married, the same ancestor belongs at two numbers. The report writes them out once, at the lower number, and points to that entry from the other.
What the reports contain
Ancestors (the Ahnentafel). The person and their direct ancestors, grouped by generation and numbered as above, eight generations deep counting the person. Each entry gives the name, births, baptisms, deaths and burials with dates and places, and the numbers of their own parents in the list.
Descendants (the register). One ancestor's descendants, six generations deep. Each family is an entry: the parent, their partners, and their children in birth order numbered i, ii, iii. A + before a child means their own family follows further on, under the entry number shown, so you can follow a line down through the generations. Each entry also traces its line back to the starting ancestor by first names.
How to print one
- Get the family into a tree: type them in (Building your tree), or import a GEDCOM from Ancestry, MyHeritage, Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic or another program (Import a GEDCOM).
- Select the person the report starts from.
- Open Export on the rail and choose A report about them.
- Choose Ancestors for the Ahnentafel, or Descendants for the register, then Print the report.
- Your browser's print dialog opens. Print it, or choose Save as PDF to keep a file.
The same section prints a family group sheet: one couple and their children on a page.
Report or chart?
The same numbering can be drawn as a chart. Turn on Pedigree in Look and every card carries its Ahnentafel number; see Make a printable pedigree chart. The chart is easier to take in at a glance; the report fits more generations onto ordinary paper and is easier to quote and annotate.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free? Building the tree is free. A free account can print this report up to 5 generations from one person on Letter or A4, with a small "Made with Draw My Tree" line at the foot of each page; a longer report comes with a one-time Keepsake for that tree, or with the Family Plan for every tree. Prices are on the pricing page.
Are living people included? Yes, unless you turn on Leave out living people in the report step. With it on, the reports leave them out, and the descendant register says how many children or partners are not shown.
Can I go back further than eight generations? Not in one report. Eight generations is up to 255 people, the person included. To follow a line further back, select the earliest ancestor on it and print another report from them; the numbers then start again at 1.
Does it include sources? No. The report carries the facts, not the citations behind them.
What to read next
Last updated October 11, 2026 by Prescott Bros LLC, the makers of Draw My Tree.