Finally, This 9th Grader Teacher Explains What “First Cousin Once Removed” Means

Oh, yes, the one question we don’t want to awkwardly ask others about. Neither have we ever thought we need to Google it because, you know, we’re all cousins!

Okay, no, seriously. This is Cousins 101 and the topic today is ‘first cousin once removed.’

Kevin Silberman, the teacher of TikTok randomly made a video explaining the family tree when one person asked him what they should call their cousin’s child. And as a teacher, it was only right for him to clarify this to people who took the brave step of asking!

He began with something we’re all familiar with, “My uncle’s son would be my first cousin.”

Then he added, “My first cousin’s son would be my first cousin, once removed. Removed means down by one generation.”

And how does the “once removed” term works exactly? He continued, “If my first cousin once removed has a son, he would be my first cousin twice removed.”

“Now, my first cousin’s son, and my son are second cousins. I hope that clears things up.”

A user’s question clarified the term, “What about a parent’s first cousin to me? Like up a generation? Is that still considered a first cousin once removed?”

Answer: Your parent’s first cousin is your first cousin once removed.

It definitely did clear things up for us and about 11 million other viewers.

Hilariously, a lot of people find this “once removed” thing unusual. Many Latinos and Hispanic users shared that they just refer to everyone else as their cousins or nephews depending on the level of relationship.

He also made a subsequent skit where a Spanish student easily simplified the chart as sobrino, segundo, or primo.

Thousands of other comments thanked him for explaining what it meant.

@silb0017 Reply to @brungee #fyp #teachersoftiktok #cousins #family @silb0017 ♬ original sound – Kevin Silberman