Jewish Lineality Definitions


Note: For purposes of the below definitions, we use the following terminology: a person whose both parents are Jewish is of Full-line Jewish descent.

Matrilineal descent: A person has a matrilineal descent line if one's mother, or maternal grandmother, or maternal grandmother's mother, etc. etc., is/was of Full-line Jewish descent.

Patrilineal descent: A person has a patrilineal descent line if one's father, or paternal grandfather, or paternal grandfather's father, etc. etc., is/was of Full-line Jewish descent.

Mixed lineality descent: A person has a Mixed-line of Jewish descent if, in tracing ancestry to a person of Full-line Jewish descent, one must traverse thru male and female ancestors. For example, if one traces ancestry to a person of Full-line Jewish descent who was one's maternal grandfather, or one's paternal grandmother or any ancestor of the maternal granfather, or any ancestor of the paternal grandmother, then one has a Mixed-lineality Jewish descent.

Note also that an individual can also have two linealities (i.e. a Jewish ancestor thru one's mother and a Jewish ancestor thru one's father). For example:
- on one's mother side one can have a maternal lineality and on one's father one can at the same time have a paternal lineality;
- or, one can have maternal lineality thru one's mother and mixed lineality thru one's father;
- or, one can have paternal lineality thru one's father and mixed lineality thru one's mother;
- or, one can have mixed lineality thru one's mother and also thru one's father.

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