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How are we related? A family relationship calculator

Pick any two people in your tree and Draw My Tree tells you how they are related, in standard genealogy terms: "Tom is Ann’s great-nephew", "Ann and Lucy are 2nd cousins once removed". It names the ancestors the two share and lists every relative in between, then draws that line on the tree.

Open your tree, or try it as a guest with a GEDCOM file of up to 50 people.

  1. Right-click a person's card (or long-press it on a phone, or press Shift+F10 on a selected card) and choose Relationship to…. If you can edit the tree, it is under More in that menu. You can also press Ctrl+K (⌘+K on a Mac) and type "related".
  2. From starts on the person you chose. To starts on the tree's home person; type a name in either field to pick someone else. Each person is listed with their years, so two people with the same name are easy to tell apart.
  3. Read the answer under the two fields. A relationship that runs the same both ways, such as cousins or siblings, is said once. One that differs by direction, such as an aunt and her nephew, is said both ways.
  4. Swap people turns the question around.
  5. Show on the tree closes the dialog and keeps only the line between the two on the tree. The Filter panel opens with it, where Reset filters brings everyone back.

What the answer shows

  • The relationship, in both directions where they differ.
  • Nearest common ancestors: the couple, or the one person, both descend from. A direct ancestor and descendant have none to list, since one is the other's ancestor.
  • How the line runs: each person from the first to the second, with what each is to the one before ("John, Ann’s father", "Paul, John’s son").

How cousins are counted

Cousins are counted from the nearest ancestors two people share. Children of siblings are 1st cousins, their children are 2nd cousins, and so on. When the two are a different number of generations down from those ancestors, the difference is how many times they are "removed": your parent's 1st cousin is your 1st cousin once removed.

Relatives by marriage are named one step out: a partner's parent is a mother-in-law or father-in-law, a sibling's partner a brother-in-law or sister-in-law, and a parent's partner who is not your parent a stepfather or stepmother. Someone married to a relative further out is named through that relative: "James is the husband of Margaret’s granddaughter". Two people joined by more than one marriage are "related by marriage", and the line between them shows how.

Relatives you send a public link to can use Relationship to… too, without an account, to see how they connect to anyone the link shows. People the link hides for privacy can't be picked. When a hidden person sits on the line between two others, they appear as Private, so the answer never names a living relative the link keeps out.

Frequently asked questions

Why does it say "No connection found in this tree"? Nothing recorded in the tree links the two yet. They may still be related; add the parents or partners that join them and ask again.

What happens when two people are related more than one way? The answer gives the closest blood relationship, through the nearest ancestors they share. When cousins married, or one family married into another twice, the other connections are not listed yet.

Does it work in the fan chart and the pedigree? The answer and the line between the two do. Show on the tree is offered on the tree and the timeline, where a filter can keep only that line; the fan and the pedigree already show one person's ancestors only.

Is it free? Yes, on every tree and every public link.

Last updated October 24, 2026 by Prescott Bros LLC, the makers of Draw My Tree.