My kids call my closest cousins to me Aunt J__ and Aunt H__. Other that that they use their fist names.
The more Aunts and Uncles the better, If the adults are okay with it I would say you are good to go. Our elder cousins are auntie and uncles along with our elder friends. Good luck.
In our family, we have only 2 first cousins across both sides. One is a young guy in his 20s and we use his first name. The other who I am closer to is a woman in her 40s and we use "Aunt."
Don't feel compelled to find an honorarium for this person. Just use their first name if aunt doesn't feel right. We don't make our kids be formal with our closest friends and family.
Why not just use their first names? We have a cousin and her fiancée that are really close, and they are just "Sally" and "Bob". My kids still respect them the same as the rest of their elders. Sometimes, however, Aunt and Uncle come out of my mouth when referring to them.
We were raised to call adult family friends, Aunt and Uncle.Other adults were always Mr. and Mrs. It was very disrespectful to call adults by their first name. Here in America it seems that everyone is on first name terms. I guess it differs by culture.What would mean the most to your cousin? Is there a word that is used (middle eastern or hispanic) that shows respect in addressing an adult? What about translating the word "cousin" into one of the other languages and have your son call them " xxxxxxxx John". That may be interesting and fun.
Technically (in English) they're 2nd cousins, and their children are 3rd cousins.
I'd go with "We're following DH's family customs on this one"... 2nd cousins = Auntie & Uncle ... one could even use the actual arabic/persian/pashto words OR the spanish
Ex)
Arabic (mum's side) Kalah Simone & Kahl Bobby
Spanish : Tia Simone & Tio Bobby
My Aunt has a godchild that I grew up with (we are the same age). I always referred to her as my Cousin, even tho' we are not related. My son calls her Nanny, and we call her parents Granny and Poppy. We refer to her children as my son's cousins. Our families have been intertwined for decades with no actual blood relations.
Instead of the official honorific of Aunt and Uncle, what about Nanny any Poppy - any other variation of the Aunt/Uncle honorific. It would give your cousin and her husband special names, and, clarify the relationship.
God Bless
You can refer to them as my cousin Suzy or my Mom's cousin Jane but when talking to them directly we called cousins of a similar age by their first name but an elder cousin is called "Cousin Jane" or "Cousin Joe"
or you could just choose a title specially for her like "Tia" or "Prima" (aunt or cousin in Spanish)
We have a mixed bag of this in our family. I have two cousins that are like sisters to me and my kids call them "aunt" and their kids do the same with me. I have other cousins who we just call by their first names. The other option is "Ms" or "Mr".
I would ask your cousin if she would mind being called auntie. I have a close friend who my little ones call auntie. It's a term of endearment. I would say if your cousin don't mind then do it. By the way I am not Hispanic or Middle Eastern.
You could ask them what they would like to be called - they have a child, too, and the question may come up on what their daughter will call you as well. We aren't too formal in our family. I always refer to my sibs as Auntie or Uncle, but more times than not all the kids call the adults by their first names, except Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. Other than what you've mentioned, the only other label I've heard is "Miss Jane" or "Mr. Jim".
Your cousin would be your child's second cousin, so calling them "cousin" would be appropriate. That's what my kids call my cousins!
I cannot imagine my kids or anyone else's calling me "cousin" anything. I have a name and everyone calls each other by their names. I have 47 first cousins on my dads side and over 15 on my moms. The Aunts and Uncles were addressed but Aunt and Uncle. I never heard anyone calling anyone cousin then their name. If it is your culture to do so then go by what your culture dictates.
I used to be told to do this as a child. IMO, I would tell your kids to just call them by their first names or w/Mr., Ms., Mrs. or Miss in front of the name. I was an adult before I found out that one of my 'aunts' was actually a cousin & while I knew that a neighbor was just a neigbor, not my 'aunt', I still was told to call her 'aunt'. It would've been better for me knowing the truth of the matter rather than what is deemed 'appropriate' old fashioned ettiquette for youngsters. If it's an adult friend or neighbor, they should, IMO, be called Mr., Ms., Miss or Mrs. Last Name or Mr., Ms, Miss, Mrs. First name like "son, this is Miss Jones/Mr. Thompkins" or "son, this is Miss Sarah/Mr. James". It, to me works better for women to be referred to by their first names & men by their last names but that's up to you. I would avoid calling someone something they're not. While I can understand if it's a close personal friend that's considered family or 'adopted' in a virtual fashion by the family & you wish to support this by referring to them as 'aunt' or 'uncle' then that can be understandable but the kids should know that while they call them that, they're not really related if it's just a friend. That's really old fashioned & while yes, it can be viewed as an old fashioned way to show respect, it's still not being honest & to me, it's just silly to say a cousin is an aunt or uncle. Good luck!
i called my moms 2 cousins uncle so and so...then when i was older like 15 i started calling them by their first names. ask your cousin what your son should call her
First names.
well technically she (your cousin) is your son's second-cousin, and her daughter is your son's third cousin.
But do they (the cousins) want a "special name"? As a teen I called my cousin's uncle (my aunt's brother) "Uncle Jason" when I was around my cousins, and just "Jason" when I was not. The only reason I called him "uncle" was for the little kids, and he was about 21 when I was 14, and if we were all in the grocery store all together or something people wouldn't think it was "weird". (I spent my summer at age 14 with my aunt & uncle, and her brother often would watch us when she needed it) I also called my aunt's mother "nanna"- because she was like a 3rd "grandma" to me, but we didn't feel "grandma" was a fair name for her... ironically in the family I married, my daughter calls her grandma (my husband's mother) "nana" and her grandfather "papa", while my mom is "grandma" - her husband in "grandpa T" and My dad is "grandpa" and his GF is "Grandma V"
Then we have great grandmothers and great grandfathers... all "great uncles" we just call "uncle T" or whatnot. Unless we are building a family tree or something, then we will explain it more "correctly"- and show it on a chart.
Families are complicated, and only get more so. Just find a name and use it. "cousin" is just fine... or you could try using a word that means "cousin or aunt" from another language and use that instead... so no one feels like thier toes are stepped on.
Or use first names and skip it all. Probably as adults your kids will just use first names with distant relatives anyways.
Good Luck
-Megan
I would ask your cousin and her husband for their preference in how they should be addressed.