How to make a family tree
- Start with yourself. Click “Start my own family tree” and type your name and the year you were born. Everything else hangs off this first card.
- Work backwards one generation at a time. Select your card and press the + above it to add your father and mother, then do the same for each of them. Grandparents are where most family memory runs out, so this is a good moment to ask older relatives.
- Add partners, children and siblings. The + beside a card adds a partner or a sibling; the + below adds a child. If someone has children with more than one partner, you choose which couple the child belongs to.
- Fill in the details. The side panel takes dates, birthplaces, maiden names, occupations, notes and a photo. Dates can be as rough as you know them: “1923”, “Abt 1880” and “12 Mar 1950” all work.
- Download, print or share. Download a PDF, PNG, SVG or GEDCOM file, or send relatives a link so they can add what they know.
Already have a tree somewhere else? Export it as a GEDCOM file and open it here with “Import GEDCOM” — it keeps names, dates, places, notes and every family connection.
Built for real families
Most free tools assume one marriage and two biological parents. Real families are messier, and that is where charts usually fall apart: overlapping lines, cousins drawn between siblings, or no way to show that a child was adopted. This family tree maker lays out the whole tree automatically every time you add someone, and handles:
- Remarriage and multiple partners — each partnership gets its own line, and children sit under the right couple.
- Divorce and separation — shown with the conventional slashes on the marriage line.
- Half-siblings and step-families — the relationship labels say “half-sister” or “stepfather”, not just “sibling”.
- Adoption and fostering — a dashed line for adopted children and a dotted line for foster children, so birth and family history can both be recorded honestly.
- Unknown parents — add a child to a single parent; the other side can be filled in later.
- Siblings in birth order — children are sorted by birth year as soon as you enter it.
Printing a family tree at the right size
A family tree is only useful on paper if you can read it. When you download a PDF, the dialog shows how large the names will print — under 6 pt is hard to read, 8 pt and above is comfortable — and suggests a bigger sheet when needed. The PDF is a vector file, so it stays sharp at every size and any print shop can use it.
| Size of your tree | Paper that usually works |
|---|---|
| Up to about 20 people, 3–4 generations | US Letter or A4 |
| 20–50 people | Tabloid (11×17 in) or A3 |
| 50–120 people | 18×24 in, A2 or A1 |
| 120–250 people | 24×36 in or A0 |
| More than 250 people | 36×48 in, or print one branch at a time |
Wide trees fit better in landscape and deep trees in portrait; the orientation is chosen automatically. To print one branch, open Style → Who to show, choose “Around the home person” and set how many generations up and down to include. No large-format printer? “Poster on home printer” splits a poster across ordinary sheets with crop marks and an overlap strip for taping together.
Five card styles
Archive
Classic
Heritage
Botanical
Ink saver
Archive is clean and modern, Classic uses the familiar blue and pink, Heritage has a sepia, old-document look that suits framed prints, Botanical is soft and rounded, and Ink saver prints in pure black and white for photocopying or school worksheets. Switch styles at any time from the Style menu; the tree itself doesn’t change.
Your family history stays yours
Family trees hold sensitive information about living people: birth dates, birthplaces and maiden names are the same details used for identity checks. Nothing you type here is uploaded. The tree is saved in your browser on your device, and when you share online you can tick “Hide details of living people” so only their names appear. Because browsers occasionally clear stored data, download a backup file from time to time and keep it with your photos.
Where to find information for your tree
- Relatives first. Older family members remember names, nicknames and places that no record will tell you. Ask about photos and the backs of photos.
- Home sources. Family Bibles, funeral cards, wedding invitations, letters and old address books often hold exact dates.
- Civil records. Birth, marriage and death certificates, and census returns (US federal censuses from 1790 to 1950 are public; England and Wales up to 1921).
- Free databases. FamilySearch is free with a login; FreeBMD covers England and Wales indexes; Find a Grave and BillionGraves record headstones.
Note where each fact came from in the person’s notes. Future you — and anyone you share the tree with — will want to know whether a date came from a certificate or from Aunt Mary’s memory.