Second cousin once removed...?

Question:

Second cousin once removed...?

What exactly does this mean? I'm doing a family tree and found out that I'm related to Austin Kearns, he's my second cousin once removed. Is that the same thing as being third cousins?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Ok - this is the way I think of it:

Cousins mean that you share the same grandparents; 2nd cousins mean that you share the same GREAT-grandparents. That works when you move equal numbers of generations away from the common ancestor(s). The "removed" part is an extra generation - for instance, the child of my 2nd cousin would be my 2nd cousin once removed - same common ancestors, but we are at different numbers of generations from our common ancestors. Either you are a second cousin of one of Austin Kearns' parents, or he is the second cousin of one of yours.

If you and he were third cousins, then you would share a set of great-great grandparents.