Cousin Couples

Cousin couples are marriages between a man and a woman who are related through one of their parents. Though uncommon today, many states still allow first cousins to marry. The rest only require the couple be second cousins, or further apart.

Biblical basis for cousin marriage[edit]

• Isaac married Rebekah, his first cousin once removed. (Genesis 24:12-51)
• Jacob married two of his cousins, Rachel and Leah. (Genesis chapters 28-29)
• Zelophehad's five orphaned daughters were commanded by God to marry cousins. (Numbers 36:11 For Mahlal, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons)
• Eleazar's daughters each married first cousins, as they were commanded. (1 Chronicles 23:22)

Where cousin marriage is allowed[edit]

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

Famous Couple Cousins[edit]

• Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt
• Charles Darwin and Emma Wedgewood, first cousin
• Albert Einstein and Elsa lowenthal, first and second cousins
• Rudy Giuliani and Regina Peruggi, second cousins
• Muhammad and Zaynab bint Jahsh, first cousins
• H. G. Wells and Isabell Mary Wells, first cousins