Family Relationship Terms
Well, that's a great-grandmother! There are so many familial relationship words we use that we don't even think about but when looking up ancestry, these labels become important pieces of information. Census records are an amazing source of information but if you are looking in Puerto Rico, they are listed in Spanish so you may not understand all the terms listed.
You will see that people are listed by relationship to the head of household with is usually listed as "jefe" literally meaning 'boss'. This of course can help you find all sorts of people in a family not just through relationship labels but also by last names. (See surname page.)
Even if you are not looking through records, you may hear stories about various people in your family (or know them even) but have no clue how they are actually related to you or how to say it in Spanish. Once you have figured how and who you're related to be sure to figure out what the real names of your ancestor's were. Puerto Ricans are infamous for their penchant for nicknaming but in order to put that nickname with a census, birth, marriage, or death record you need to know what their real first or given name is. Check out my given names page to make sense of it all.
You will see that people are listed by relationship to the head of household with is usually listed as "jefe" literally meaning 'boss'. This of course can help you find all sorts of people in a family not just through relationship labels but also by last names. (See surname page.)
Even if you are not looking through records, you may hear stories about various people in your family (or know them even) but have no clue how they are actually related to you or how to say it in Spanish. Once you have figured how and who you're related to be sure to figure out what the real names of your ancestor's were. Puerto Ricans are infamous for their penchant for nicknaming but in order to put that nickname with a census, birth, marriage, or death record you need to know what their real first or given name is. Check out my given names page to make sense of it all.
Below is a list of familial relationships. This list only refers to terms commonly used in Puerto Rico.
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"What I can tell you is that for Puerto Rico being such a small island, it has culturally impacted the entire world." - Fat Joe