Would you consider him my cousin.

Twoandahalfmen

He isn't related to me by blood and I never see him, but he is my aunties husbands son from a previous relationship. They live in America but he lives here.
Would he be considered my cousin

P. Breathnach

Unless your aunt legally adopted him when she married his father, I'd say no.

There are times when the phrase "family connection" is a useful catch-all.

pinkypinky

I agree - he's not a relation but plenty of people in a similar situation would refer to him as a cousin for convenience.

RGM

"Cousin" has a specific meaning, that you share a common ancestor. Being related by blood is the very definition.

But it depends on why you're asking. There's no harm in just calling someone a cousin. I have the same thing in my family, where my aunt (through marriage) has a son from a previous marriage. I call him my cousin. He's family, it doesn't hurt anything even if it's not technically accurate.

P. Breathnach

RGM wrote: »

... But it depends on why you're asking....

It also depends on who you are asking, and in what context.

When you ask a group who congregate in a genealogy forum, the answer is no.

Waitsian

Twoandahalfmen wrote: »

He isn't related to me by blood

Then he isn't your cousin.

Ponster

P. Breathnach wrote: »

When you ask a group who congregate in a genealogy forum, the answer is no.

Yep.

But most of the time I think that if you were introducing him to someone else it would just make sense to use the term 'cousin' for simplicity sake.

You also wouldn't need any kind of marriage dispensation to marry (in case that was where this was going)

stop animal cruelty

no.