[[Image:Family tree.svg|right|350 px|Example of a family tree]]
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A '''family tree''' is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional [[tree structure]]. The more detailed family trees used in [[medicine]], [[genealogy]], and [[social work]] are known as [[genograms]].
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==Family tree representations==
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Genealogical data can be represented in several formats, for example as a [[pedigree chart|pedigree]] or [[ancestor chart]]. Family trees are often presented with the oldest generations at the top and the newer generations at the bottom. An ancestry chart, which is a tree showing the ancestors of an individual, will more closely resemble a tree in shape, being wider at the top than the bottom. In some ancestry charts, an individual appears on the left and his or her ancestors appear to the right. A descendancy chart, which depicts all the descendants of an individual will be narrowest at the top.
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[[Image:Waldburg Ahnentafel.jpg|thumb|300 px|The Family Tree of Sigmund [[Christoph von Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg]]]]
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Family trees can have many themes. One might encompass all direct descendants of a single figure, or all known ancestors of a living person. Another might include all members of a particular surname (e.g. male-line descendants). Yet another approach is to construct a tree including all holders of a certain office, such as [[Kings of Germany family tree|kings of Germany]]. This relies on [[dynastic marriage]] to hold together the links between dynasties.
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A very old and extensive tree is that of the [[Lurie]] lineage — which includes [[Sigmund Freud]], [[Martin Buber]], [[Rashi]], [[Hezekiah]] — and traces at least back to [[David|King David]] born c.1037 BC <ref>{{cite journal|journal = JTA|author=Bill Gladstone|date=October 24, 2004| url=http://jta.org/news/article/2004/10/24/12092/FromKingDavidtoF |title=The oldest family in the world}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Lurie Legacy: The House of Davidic Royal Descent|author=Neil Rosenstein, Ranan R. Lurie|ISBN=9781886223172}}</ref>.
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==See also==
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*[[Genealogy software]]
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*[[Cousin chart]] (Table of consanguinity)
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*[[Genetic genealogy#Genetic similarity among relatives]] (for general genetic similarity)
Genealogical data can be represented in several formats, for example as a pedigree or ancestor chart. Family trees are often presented with the oldest generations at the top and the newer generations at the bottom. An ancestry chart, which is a tree showing the ancestors of an individual, will more closely resemble a tree in shape, being wider at the top than the bottom. In some ancestry charts, an individual appears on the left and his or her ancestors appear to the right. A descendancy chart, which depicts all the descendants of an individual will be narrowest at the top.
Family trees can have many themes. One might encompass all direct descendants of a single figure, or all known ancestors of a living person. Another might include all members of a particular surname (e.g. male-line descendants). Yet another approach is to construct a tree including all holders of a certain office, such as kings of Germany. This relies on dynastic marriage to hold together the links between dynasties.
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