Nephew and niece

A nephew is the son of someone's brother or sister. A niece is the daughter of the person's brother or sister. To the nephew or niece, the person is their uncle or aunt. The relationship of aunt/uncle to niece/nephew is an example of second-degree relatives, meaning that their coefficient of relationship is 25%. In some cultures and families, it is common to call the child of one's cousin a "niece" or "nephew". In old English, the son of one's sister was called a sister-son.

Detail[change | change source]

A sororal or fraternal relative is one who is related through their sister or brother. For example a sororal niece is the subject's sister's child.^[source?] An in-law is a relationship that is not by blood, but instead by marriage. The in-law shares the in-law relationships of the spouses relatives. For niece or nephew in-law could be the child of a spouse.

Variation of terms[change | change source]

Women[change | change source]

niece: sibling's daughter.
half-niece: half-sibling's daughter
sororal niece: sister's daughter.
fraternal niece: brother's daughter.
double-half-niece: a person who is a daughter of both of the subjects half-siblings.
grandniece (or great-niece): sibling's granddaughter.
great-grandniece (or great-great-niece): sibling's great-granddaughter.
niece-in-law (or niece-by-marriage): spouse's niece.
niece-in-law: nephew/niece's wife.
co-niece-in-law (or niece-by-marriage-in-law): spouse's nephew/niece's wife.

Men[change | change source]

nephew: sibling's son.
half-nephew: half-sibling's son.
sororal nephew: sister's son.
fraternal nephew: brother's son.
double-half-nephew: a person who is a son of both of the subjects half-siblings.
grandnephew (or great-nephew): sibling's grandson.
great-grandnephew (or great-great-nephew): sibling's great-grandson.
nephew-in-law (or nephew-by-marriage): spouse's nephew.
nephew-in-law: nephew/niece's husband.
co-nephew-in-law (or nephew-by-marriage-in-law): spouse's nephew/niece's husband.