What is a great-uncle (or great-aunt)?

Your great-uncle is your grandma’s or grandpa’s brother, and your great-aunt is their sister. To them, you’re a great-nephew or great-niece. They’re your mom’s or dad’s aunts and uncles, one generation further up.

At a glance

Great-uncle: Your grandparent’s brother.
Great-aunt: Your grandparent’s sister.
The other way: You’re their great-nephew or great-niece.

Example familyMichael is Ethan’s great-uncle: he and Ethan’s grandpa Thomas were brothers. Their sisters, Kate and Bridget, are Ethan’s great-aunts.

Michaelyour great-uncle

Patrick and Margaret Sullivanyour great-grandparents

Thomasyour grandfather

Jamesyour father

You

Ethan

Heads-up

The “great” that throws people off

Your great-grandmother has one “great” in her name, so it’s easy to assume your great-aunt is her sister. She isn’t. Your great-aunt is your grandmother’s sister, one generation closer to you.

Your great-grandmother’s sister is your great-great-aunt. The rule of thumb: an aunt or uncle always carries one more “great” than the grandparent they’re a sibling of.

Aunt: your mom’s or dad’s sister.
Great-aunt: your grandparent’s sister.
Great-great-aunt: your great-grandparent’s sister.

Great-uncle or grand-uncle?

Both words mean the same person. Great-uncle is what most Americans say. Grand-uncle is the older, more formal word.

Some family historians prefer grand-uncle because it lines up with grandparent: a grand-aunt belongs to the same generation as your grandparents. Either word is correct, so use the one your family uses.

Out loud, most families skip the “great.” Kids say Uncle Joe or Aunt Carol, and that’s just right: the “great” is for the family tree, not the dinner table.

The other way around

To your great-uncle, you’re a great-nephew or a great-niece. Your children go one step further: to him, they’re great-great-nephews and great-great-nieces, and to them, he’s a great-great-uncle.

And yes, he’s family by blood. His parents are your great-grandparents, so you both come from the same couple.

His wife is family too. Just as your uncle’s wife is your aunt, your great-uncle’s wife is your great-aunt. In the example family, Michael’s wife, Susan, is Ethan’s great-aunt by marriage.

His children, grandchildren and cousins

Your great-uncle’s children are first cousins of your mom or dad, so to you they’re first cousins once removed. His grandchildren are your second cousins: same generation as you, same great-grandparents.

In the example family, Michael’s son Ryan is Ethan’s first cousin once removed, and Ryan’s kids, Mia and Lucas, are Ethan’s second cousins. To Mia, Michael is Grandpa. To Ethan, he’s a great-uncle.

And his own first cousins? They’re your grandparent’s first cousins too, and English stops saying “uncle” there: they’re your first cousins twice removed.

In real life

The great-aunt with the shoebox

Many families have one: the great-aunt who still bakes her mother’s pie and remembers the old neighborhood street by street. At holiday dinners she’s the one with a shoebox of photos and a name written on the back of every picture.

Pull up a chair and ask about her mom and dad. Those are your great-grandparents, and she grew up in their house. Then ask her to tell it again, slower, so your kids can hear it too.