Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation. The word nephew is derived from the French word neveu.

• Nephew – son of one's brother/sister (and his/her spouse).
• Niece – daughter of one's sister/brother (and her/his spouse).
• Half-nephew – son of one's half-brother/half-sister.
• Half-niece – daughter of one's half-brother/half-sister.
• Nephew-in-law – son of one's sister-in-law/brother-in-law; husband of one's niece.
• Niece-in-law – daughter of one's sister-in-law/brother-in-law; wife of one's nephew.
• Step-nephew – son of one's stepbrother/sister, or stepson of one's brother/sister.
• Step-niece – daughter of one's stepbrother/sister, or stepdaughter of one's brother/sister.
• Half-nephew-in-law – son of one's wife/husband's half-brother/half-sister; husband of one's half-niece
• Half-niece-in-law – daughter of one's wife/husband's half-brother/half-sister; wife of one's half-nephew
• Step-niece-in-law – daughter of one's wife/husband's stepbrother/stepsister; wife of one's step-nephew
• Step-nephew-in-law – son of one's wife/husband's stepbrother/stepsister; husband of one's step-niece
• Great-nephew – son of one's nephew/niece, grandson of one's sister/brother.
• Great-niece – daughter of one's nephew/niece, granddaughter of one's sister/brother.
• Half-great-nephew – son of one's half-nephew/niece.
• Half-great-niece – daughter of one's half-nephew/niece.

In archaic terminology, a maternal nephew is called a sister-son, emphasizing the importance as a person's nearest male relative should he have no brothers or sons of his own. The term is used to describe some knights who are nephews to King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

 and is imitated by J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

, especially in lists of Kings of Rohan or dwarves where the sister-son is also heir. Sister-daughter is a less common parallel term for niece.

See also

• Uncle
  Uncle
  An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
  
  
• Aunt
  Aunt
  An aunt is a person who is the sister or sister-in-law of a parent. A man with an equivalent relationship is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece....
  
  
• Fictive kinship
  Fictive kinship
  Fictive kinship is a term used by anthropologists and ethnographers to distinguish between forms of kinship or social ties that are based on neither consanguinal nor affinal ties...
  
  
• Cousin
  Cousin
  In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
  
  , for details of this and other family relationships.

External links

• Uncle/Aunt Nephew/Niece GENETIC AND QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS OF GENEALOGY
• Dictionary.com, "nephew," in Dictionary.com Unabridged. Source location: Random House, Inc. Available: http://dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved: January 1, 2011.