Family history & kinship guides
Free, practical guides to building your family tree, understanding kinship across Indian languages, researching your ancestry in India, and keeping your family's photos and stories from being lost.
Tamil Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Tamil kinship terms: the precise words for relatives — appa, amma, thatha, paati, mama, athai, periyappa, chithappa and more — and the…
Hindi Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Hindi kinship terms: the precise words for relatives — chacha, tau, mama, bua, mausi, dada, nana and more — and the logic of side and…
Kannada Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Kannada kinship terms: the words for parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and in-laws in Kannada script with English…
Malayalam Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Malayalam kinship terms: the words for parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and in-laws in Malayalam script with…
Bengali Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Bengali kinship terms: the words for parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and in-laws in Bengali script with English…
Marathi Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Marathi kinship terms: the words for parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and in-laws in Marathi script with English…
Gujarati Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Gujarati kinship terms: the words for parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and in-laws in Gujarati script with English…
Punjabi Kinship Terms: A Family Relationship Guide
A guide to Punjabi kinship terms: the words for parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and in-laws in Punjabi script with English…
Why You Should Record Your Family Tree Now
Why you should record your family tree now, not someday: memory fades, elders pass, and every year of delay loses names and stories no record can…
Family Reunion Ideas to Capture Your History
Family reunion ideas to capture your history: turning a gathering into interviews, photo scanning, and tree-building so the family's memory is…
Common Genealogy Mistakes to Avoid
Common genealogy mistakes to avoid: trusting memory over sources, chasing famous ancestors, ignoring the maternal line, keeping the tree private, and more.
How to Get Your Family Involved in Building the Tree
How to get your family involved in building the family tree: sharing the work, using festivals and occasions, and making it a collaborative, lasting…
How to Record Your Family's Medical History
How to record your family's medical history: why it matters, what to collect, how to ask relatives sensitively, and how to organize and share it…
How to Back Up and Share Your Family Tree
How to back up and share your family tree: why single copies get lost, how sharing enables collaboration, the formats to use, and keeping your tree…
Cross-Cousin vs. Parallel-Cousin: What's the Difference?
Cross-cousin vs. parallel-cousin explained: the distinction that shapes South Indian kinship and marriage, with simple examples and why it matters…
How to Label and Identify Old Family Photos
How to label and identify old family photos: clues to date and place them, how to ask elders who's who, and how to label safely without damaging…
How to Preserve Family Recipes and Traditions
How to preserve family recipes and traditions: recording the dishes, festivals, and rituals that carry your heritage, and keeping them alive for the…
How to Start Genealogy With No Records
How to start genealogy with no records: building your family tree from living memory, reconstructing the past from small clues, and working outward…
North Indian vs. South Indian Kinship Systems
North Indian vs. South Indian kinship systems explained: how they differ in cross-cousin marriage, the precision of relationship terms, and what each…
How to Write Your Family History
How to write your family history: turning your family tree into a readable story, structuring it, weaving in sources and photos, and sharing it so it…
Family Tree Symbols and Conventions Explained
Family tree symbols explained: what the boxes, circles, and lines mean, how marriage, divorce, adoption, and twins are shown, and how to read and…
How to Find Living Relatives
How to find living relatives: working forward from known ancestors, using community and family networks, and reaching out respectfully to reconnect…
How to Make a Family Tree for a School Project
How to make a family tree for a school project: simple steps for kids, what to include, easy layout ideas, and free tools to build and print one quickly.
What Is a Genogram and How to Make One
What is a genogram? Learn how this enhanced family tree maps relationships, patterns, and health history, what its symbols mean, and how to make your own.
How to Digitize Old Family Documents and Photos
How to digitize old family documents and photos: scanning vs photographing, the right settings, naming and backing up files, and handling fragile…
Questions to Ask About Your Family History
A ready-made list of questions to ask about your family history, organized by theme — origins, childhood, migration, traditions, and relationships —…
How to Trace Your Maternal Ancestry
How to trace your maternal ancestry: why the female line gets lost, how maiden names and oral history help, and practical steps to recover your…
Understanding Indian Surnames and Their Origins
Understanding Indian surnames and their origins: how surnames come from villages, occupations, castes, titles, and house names — and what they reveal…
How to Find Your Ancestral Village in India
How to find your ancestral village in India: using surnames, gotra, elders' memories, land and temple records, and gazetteers to trace where…
Family Tree Chart Types Explained
Pedigree, descendant, hourglass, and fan charts explained: what each family tree chart type shows, its strengths, and which to use for your genealogy goal.
How to Organize Your Family Tree Research
A simple system for organizing family tree research: consistent naming, recording your sources, where to keep everything, and how to avoid redoing…
How to Interview Your Grandparents About Family History
A warm, practical guide to interviewing your grandparents about family history: how to prepare, the questions that open up memories, how to record…
Telugu kinship chart
Every close relative in one table — the Telugu word and romanization, organized by side of the family. A printable quick reference.
Telugu kinship terms, explained
మామయ్య, అత్త, బావ, వదిన — a complete reference to the Telugu word for every relative, with romanization and meaning.
How to build a family tree
Start with yourself and work outward. A step-by-step guide to gathering names, interviewing elders and keeping your tree forever.
Telugu in-law terms
మామగారు, అత్తగారు, బావమరిది, తోడల్లుళ్లు, వియ్యంకుడు — the words for every relative you gain through marriage.
How are we related?
First cousins, second cousins, “once removed” and degrees of relationship — finally explained, with the Telugu view.
Researching family history in India
The records that actually help: village land registers, temple and priestly bahis, gotra, gazetteers and electoral rolls.
Gotra and family lineage
What a gotra is, where it comes from, its role in marriage, and how surnames and house names record ancestry.
Preserving your family's stories
How to record your elders' oral history — the questions to ask, what to capture, and how to keep it findable.
Preserving old family photos
Store, scan, label and back up your old photographs — and identify who's who before the knowledge is lost.
Put it into practice
Build your family tree in your browser — free, no sign-up, with the correct kinship term in your mother tongue computed for every relative.
Open the free tree maker →