Family Tree Maker

How to use the family tree maker

1. Type your family as a list. Put the oldest couple or person on the first line, joining a couple with +, as in Ann Smith + Bob Smith. Indent each line more than the line above to make it a child of that line. Add notes such as years after a | sign.
2. On an indented couple, the first name is the child of the couple above and the second name is that child's partner. On the first lines, both names are the founders of the tree.
3. The tree draws as you type. Add a title, choose whether notes show, and use Download PNG or Download SVG to save it, or Copy outline to keep the list.
4. To find a relationship, choose Person A and Person B in the box under the tree. The answer appears in plain words, for example that two people are second cousins.

Five generations of the sample family

How relationships are worked out

The tool finds the closest couple the two people both descend from. If one person is that couple's child or grandchild, the relationship is a parent, grandparent, child or grandchild with great- added for each further generation. Two children of the same couple are siblings. A child of one sibling is a niece or nephew to the other, and the reverse is an aunt or uncle.

For everyone else, the cousin degree is the smaller number of generations back to the shared couple, minus one, so people who share grandparents are first cousins and people who share great-grandparents are second cousins. The difference in generations between the two people gives the number of times removed.

Partners who married in

A person who married into the family is not descended from the couple above, so the answer says how their partner is related instead, for example that Dina is the partner of Carl, who is a parent of Eve. Neutral words are used throughout, because the tool does not record genders and a parent, aunt or uncle could be either.

For a company rather than a family, see the org chart maker. To work out how old people are on a date, use the age calculator, and for generation labels such as millennial, the generation calculator.

What the tree does not show

The list describes descendants only, and each person appears once. Half siblings, several marriages for one person, adoptions, and two families joined by a marriage between two descendants of different founders cannot be drawn in this layout. Founders on separate first-level lines are drawn as separate trees and are reported as not related.

Nothing is stored or uploaded. The tree and the answers are computed in your browser, so sensitive family details stay on your device.

Assumptions and limits

• Every child under a line belongs to that whole couple, so all children under the same line are full siblings.
• Each person is written once. Writing the same name twice creates two people, and the relationship finder lists them as separate entries.
• Relationship words are neutral and based only on the shape of your list. Dates and notes are shown but not used in the calculation.
• A box can hold one person or a couple. Triples, same-sex couples written in any order, and unmarried partners are all written the same way with a plus sign.

Formulas reviewed October 10, 2026. See the calculation methodology for how SumPanda rounds, tests and sources its formulas.

Frequently asked questions