Jump to content

Menu

Are any of you great-aunts or great-uncles?


Jean in Newcastle
 Share

Recommended Posts

I thought great aunt is short form for great grand aunt until I check out the meaning.  My dad is the youngest so I was a grandaunt in my 20s, my brother is a granduncle in his teens. My oldest nephew is my age.  Many of my nephews and nieces have kids and I haven't done a recent roll call so I don't know how many.   My oldest grandnephew would be 18 years old and my youngest niece is 3 :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I refer to them as step-grand-nieces and nephews.

 

My brother has stepkids who are in their 30s, and they have kids who range in age from 7 to 19.  I guess it won't be too long before I have step-great-grand nieces/nephews.

 

I also have a (not step) niece aged 22 and nephew aged 19, so there could be (not step) great nieces/nephews on the way before too long.

 

(PS if it sounds cold when I call the steps "steps," I do this because they were pretty old when my brother married and always had their own dad in their lives.  I've never really thought of myself as their "aunt."  But I do call their kids my kids' "cousins.")

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, but I have a niece and nephew that are both in their 20s. Neither is married yet, but I expect my nephew to be engaged any day now :). It seems strange, but it could happen any time.

 

When I think of a Great Aunt, I think of my husband's Great Aunt who will turn 90 this summer. My family always called great aunts just Aunt, they all lived far away, and I only met any of them a couple of times, none are still living. Anyway, that leaves me thinking of a great aunt as someone quite distant and quite old - not me!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just turned 43 and I have 12 great nieces and nephews. And I have grandchildren in love... They are my oldest son's best friend's 3 kids. His best friend is not close with his parents and asked us to be surrogate grandparents. It has been a baby palooza in our family the last 5 years. Sometimes it stings because my son would be 26 and I always wonder what his babies would be like, but I am so thankful to have these babies to love.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes! We have a 2 year old great-nephew and 5 month old great-niece. They are the children of our only niece (on my dh's side). My only nephew (on my side) is a special needs adult and won't ever have any children. Our niece says she wants one more, so we are hopeful. The only problem is they live 10.5 hours away. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not, but all my siblings are ;)  I'm the grandma :)

 

My oldest was seven before he had any cousins, so it may be a few years before I reach great status.  Once I do though, I suspect that they'll start rolling in, as I have 15 nieces and nephews.  I'll most likely start adding a couple grands around the same time. For the next decade at least one will turn 18 every year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have nine great-nieces & nephews on dh's side.  (all younger than dudeling)  one niece is expecting twins - so it will be 11 come june.

 

Maybe one of these days I'll be a grandma . . . .the first one is getting married in 8 days, but I don't think they're in any rush.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a nephew who is 2 years older than I am.  He had a child, before I did, so I was a great-aunt, before I was 20yo....LOL  I don't have contact with that side of the family, but since my great-niece is in her mid-twenties, I could have easily be a great-great-aunt before I was forty.  

 

 

My dd8.....is my great-niece  :thumbup:

 

 Of what I know for certain, I have 9 nieces and nephews between the ages of 17-33 and 2 more in their mid-forties. I have at least 10 great-niece/nephews but could easily have more since I not in contact with my family.

 

 

We have a big family....My mom alone has 26 direct dependents (child, grands, and great grands).  We are not a religious family, just quite fertile.  LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone has to explain grandniece to me. I'm foggy, but it IS late.

 

My little brother has a grandchild. That makes me a great aunt and him a grandnephew? I have no grandchildren. By my math that makes me younger than my little brother.

 

It makes you a grand aunt, because your brother is GRANDpa to your grandnephew. Your parents are the child's great-grandparents, and your parent's siblings would be the child's great-grand aunts/uncles.

 

The generation above the child's parents is the "grand" generation, the generation above that is the "great-grand."  And then you just keep adding greats.

 

I am spending the weekend babysitting my two sweet grandnephews and loving every minute of it. Though I get funny looks when I call them that because most everyone says "great aunt" instead of "grand aunt." But I am officially grand aunt to four. My nieces who were born when I was in my teens are all having babies now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dh is the youngest in his family, and they're very spread out in age.  His oldest niece is only a few years younger than me (so in her 40's already), she has three kids who are in elementary school.  And my second-oldest niece (she's got to be about 22?) just got married, so I'm guessing there will soon be more.   I have a nephew in his 30's as well - but he isn't married.

 

Thank heavens on my side, it's just me and my brother, and he's younger.  My nephews on that side are about the same ages as my kids, so I feel a bit less old!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not but I'm still in my (late) 20s. I do have 4 nephews and 3 nieces and a heart neice (not really mine but I love her like she is) so far, and with all siblings tallied between DH and I we have 8 siblings who are still child bearing age and of those four still definitely want more children. I figure I'll be a great aunt many many many times over eventually but our oldest nephew just turned 8 yesterday so we have a looooong time to go. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It makes you a grand aunt, because your brother is GRANDpa to your grandnephew. Your parents are the child's great-grandparents, and your parent's siblings would be the child's great-grand aunts/uncles.

 

The generation above the child's parents is the "grand" generation, the generation above that is the "great-grand."  And then you just keep adding greats.

 

I think this may be partly regional.  Great-aunt (no grands) is more common, and not incorrect, even though it's 'unbalanced' (my great-grandmother's sister is my great-great aunt).  Here's a definition from a site that explains it (it also goes into things like first cousins once removed if you're curious about that :) )  The numbers refer to a detailed chart on the site.

 

 

Uncles, Aunts

Uncle: III-2, III-8. A brother of one of your parents

Aunt: III-1, III-9. A sister of one of your parents

Great Uncle: II-2, II-7. A brother of one of your 4 grandparents.  I thought about recommending the  less commonly used title Grand Uncle (or Grand Aunt) because these individuals are in the same generation as your grandparents. When they are referred to as Great relatives, it seems to imply that they are in the generation prior to your grandparents’ generation. I suspect, though, that Great is so well established that it is unlikely to replaced by Grand. And you share more genetic information with your Grandparents than you do with your Great Uncles, so perhaps using Great rather than Grand is an acknowledgment of that genetic difference (vide supra, Grandfather; vide infra, Grand Nephew vs. Great Nephew).

Great Aunt: II-1, II-8. A sister of one of your 4 grandparents

Great-Great Uncle: I-1. A brother of one of your 8 great grandparents. Note the slightly confusing terminology – the siblings of your great grandparents have two “greats†in their relationship title, compared to only one “great†in their sibling, your great grandparent.

Great-Great Aunt: I-10. A sister of one of your 8 great grandparents.

 

Nephew, Nieces

Nephew, Niece: V-4, V-6, V-5, V-7. The son and daughter, respectively, of your sibling.

Great Nephew (Grand Nephew), Great Niece (Grand Niece): VI-2, VI-3.  The son and daughter, respectively, of your nephew or niece. In genealogy circles, it is more common to use Grand rather than Great, on the basis that this relative is as many generations removed from you as your grandparent is, only in the other direction. However, in my view, if the siblings of your grandparents are Great Uncles and Great Aunts, then it seems to me that there is greater symmetry in calling them Great Nephew rather than Grand Nephew. Besides, you share as much genetic information with your Great Nephew as you do with your Great Aunt, so from that standpoint it makes more sense to go with Great rather than Grand (vide supra, Great Uncle, Grandfather.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm...I was born an aunt. I am 41 and I actually have a great-great grand niece. I think that's right. If anyone has a better/more accurate term, I'd love to know it. My niece is a grandma.

 

Me too!  I don't even know how many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews I have.  I come from a large, far-flung family.  I don't think any of the greats are old enough to go to the great-great level, though.

 

ETA:  Silly me!  Yes, I do have some great-greats.  At least 4, I think.  (Did I mention we're not a close family? LOL)

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...