5-generation fan chart (printable genealogy template)
A fan chart shows your ancestors as rings around you: parents in the first ring, grandparents in the second, and so on. It fits five generations, 31 people, on a single page, which is why genealogists love it for research and display.
Updated
How to fit the outer ring
The outer ring holds 16 great-great-grandparents, in narrow slices. By hand, write the surname and birth year there, and keep the full details on a pedigree chart. For someone born around 2000, that ring reaches back to roughly 1880 to 1900, the period when most family lines start needing records rather than memory. Do not be put off by gaps: an empty slice shows at a glance which line to research next, which is why researchers like this format.
What is on this template
- 31 places across 5 generations
- Father's side on the left, mother's side on the right
- Names follow the curve of each ring
- Landscape page, Letter or A4
It has room for 31 people: you, your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and further back.
How to fill it in
- Print at 100% ("Actual size"). A plain-paper draft first saves spoiling the good copy.
- Write your own name first, then your parents, then each earlier generation. On a fan chart, your father's side is on the left and your mother's side on the right.
- Add the years of birth and death under each name, like 1931–2005.
Prefer typing? Open this template in the family tree maker, type the names and print a clean copy.
How to read a fan chart
You are at the center of the half circle. Each ring going out is one generation further back: 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents and 16 great-great-grandparents. Your father's ancestors fill the left half and your mother's the right, and every person's parents sit in the two slices just outside them.
Because each generation takes the same width, the chart shows at a glance which branches are complete and which stop early. That is its real use in research: the empty slices are your to-do list.
Fan chart or pedigree chart?
Both hold the same people. A fan chart is easier to take in and nicer to display; a pedigree chart has longer lines for full names, dates and places, and numbers that tie in with your notes. Many genealogists keep the pedigree chart as the working copy and print a fan chart to show the family.
Questions
How many people are on a 5-generation fan chart?
31: you, 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents and 16 great-great-grandparents.
Can I fill in a fan chart on the computer?
Yes. Click Fill it in online, type the names and download a finished PDF; the text is curved and sized to fit each slice.
Is there a full-circle fan chart?
Full 360° fan charts exist too. This one is a half circle because on a landscape page it leaves more room for every name.
