Pedigree Chart Maker
Type your family as an outline — one person per line, children indented under their parents — and get a pedigree drawn with the standard symbols: squares and circles, filled for affected, a dot for a carrier, a slash for deceased, an arrow for the proband. Generations are numbered with Roman numerals, people are numbered within each generation, and the key lists exactly the symbols you used. Download SVG or PNG. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Write each person as Name (M or F, status). Join partners with +, or = for a consanguineous union, and indent children under their parents. Statuses: affected, carrier, presymptomatic, deceased or d. 2007, proband, consultand, adopted. Add b. 1980, age 45 or a “quoted note” for the label, mz or dz for twins, and pregnancy, miscarriage, termination or stillbirth.
11
Individuals
3
Generations
3
Affected
7
Carriers
Show the pedigree as a table
| Number | Name | Sex | Status | Parents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-1 | Walter | Male | carrier, deceased | |
| I-2 | Edith | Female | carrier | |
| II-1 | Harold | Male | carrier | Walter + Edith |
| II-2 | Joan | Female | carrier | |
| II-3 | Frank | Male | affected | |
| II-4 | Margaret | Female | carrier | Walter + Edith |
| III-1 | Peter | Male | affected, proband | Harold + Joan |
| III-2 | Anne | Female | carrier | Harold + Joan |
| III-3 | Ruth | Female | unaffected | Harold + Joan |
| III-4 | Lucy | Female | affected | Frank + Margaret |
| III-5 | Tom | Male | carrier | Frank + Margaret |
Title and figure style
Takes the title out of the image and sets the figure number in bold and the title in italics above it — the APA 7 layout.
How to Use the Pedigree Chart Maker
- 1. Write the oldest generation first. One line per person: Name (M, affected). Put two partners on one line joined with +, so Walter (M) + Edith (F) is a couple.
- 2. Indent the children. Lines indented under a couple are their children, in birth order from left to right. A child can have a partner and children in turn, indented one step further.
- 3. Describe each person in the brackets. Give the sex (M, F or U), then whatever applies: affected, carrier, deceased, proband, a birth year and a note. The table below lists the words.
- 4. Check the key and download. The chart, the Roman-numeral generation labels and the key update as you type. Download SVG or PNG, or tick APA style figure to move the title out of the image.
Words You Can Use
| Write this | You get |
|---|---|
M, F, U | square (male), circle (female), diamond (sex not specified) |
affected | a filled symbol; the key names the condition you type in the box |
carrier | a dot in the symbol, or half of it filled if you choose that style |
presymptomatic | a vertical line: carries the gene but may develop the condition later |
deceased, d. 1998 | a diagonal slash; d. 1998 also writes the year under the symbol |
proband, consultand | an arrow at the lower left, with a P for the proband |
b. 1950, age 45 | birth year or age under the symbol |
"a note" | free text under the symbol, in quotes if it contains commas |
mz, dz | monozygotic or dizygotic twins; put the word on neighboring siblings |
adopted | brackets and a dashed line of descent |
pregnancy, miscarriage, termination, stillbirth | P in a diamond, a triangle, a triangle with a slash, SB under the symbol |
= between partners | a double line: a consanguineous union |
separated on the partner | two slashes across the relationship line |
The Standard Symbols
The symbols follow the National Society of Genetic Counselors' standard nomenclature (Bennett et al., 1995, reviewed and updated in the Journal of Genetic Counseling, 2008), which journals such as the American Journal of Human Genetics and the AMA Manual of Style cite. Some of its rules are built into the drawing. Male partners go to the left of female partners where there is a choice, siblings run left to right in birth order, and age is never written inside a symbol. Under a symbol the standard puts age or years of birth and death first, then any evaluation, then the pedigree number such as II-3; this tool adds the name above them. A symbol is shaded only for someone who is clinically affected, and the key must say what the shading means.
Carrier symbols differ between versions
In the 2008 standard the dot marks a carrier who is not expected to develop the condition, whatever the pattern of inheritance, and a vertical line marks a carrier who may develop it later. The NSGC published a further revision in 2022, centered on sex and gender inclusivity, so check which version your course, journal or clinic follows; its carrier notation may differ from the dot used here. This tool also offers a half-filled symbol.
Worked Example
The default pedigree has 11 individuals in 3 generations: 3 affected and 7 carriers. It is an invented family for illustrating an autosomal recessive condition, not real data.
- Walter and Edith (I-1, I-2) are both carriers, and Walter has died.
- Harold and Joan (II-1, II-2) are both carriers, so each of their children has a 1 in 4 chance of being affected. Peter (III-1) is affected and is the proband, marked by the arrow. His twin Anne (III-2) is a carrier, and Ruth (III-3) was not tested.
- Margaret (II-4) is a carrier and Frank (II-3) is affected, so each of their children has a 1 in 2 chance of being affected. Lucy (III-4) is affected and Tom (III-5) is a carrier.
- The pattern fits autosomal recessive inheritance: affected children have carrier parents, and both sexes are affected. To check risks for a cross like this, use the Punnett Square Calculator.
Reading a Pedigree for the Pattern
- Autosomal dominant. Every affected person has an affected parent, so the condition appears in every generation and passes from either sex to either sex.
- Autosomal recessive. Affected children usually have unaffected carrier parents. The condition can skip generations, and consanguinity makes it more likely.
- X-linked recessive. Mostly males are affected, it passes through carrier mothers, and an affected father never passes it to his sons. Small families can mimic any pattern, so a pedigree suggests a mode of inheritance rather than proves it.
Limits and Privacy
Each line holds one person with at most one partner, and one condition is shaded per chart. A consanguineous union is drawn as a double line between the two partners you write together; the chart does not loop back to show their shared ancestors. For a pedigree that will be shared or published, keep identifying details to a minimum — Bennett et al. advise initials or first names and birth years rather than dates, with the family's consent. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What do the symbols in a pedigree chart mean?
- A square is a male and a circle a female; a diamond means sex not specified or not relevant. A filled symbol is affected, a diagonal slash is deceased, and a horizontal line joins partners with a vertical line of descent to their children. An arrow marks the proband, the affected person through whom the family came to attention.
- What does a dot in the middle of a pedigree symbol mean?
- In the NSGC 2008 standard it marks a carrier who is not expected to develop the condition. Some courses use it only for carriers of X-linked conditions and half-shade a symbol for autosomal recessive carriers. The key on your chart should always say which.
- What do the Roman numerals on a pedigree mean?
- They number the generations from the oldest at the top, I, II, III. People within a generation are numbered with Arabic numerals from left to right, so II-3 is the third person in the second generation. This is the system the standard recommends.
- How do I show a consanguineous marriage?
- Join the two partners with a double line. In this tool, write = between them instead of +. If the degree of relationship is not obvious from the pedigree, add it as a note, for example first cousins.
- How do I draw twins on a pedigree?
- Twins' lines of descent leave the sibship line from a single point. For monozygotic (identical) twins a horizontal bar joins the two lines; for dizygotic (fraternal) twins there is no bar. In this tool, put mz or dz on neighboring siblings.
- How many generations should a pedigree include?
- Clinical pedigrees usually cover at least three generations, covering the patient, siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins, because it is across generations that the pattern shows. A pedigree for a classroom problem can be as small as the family in the question.