Genogram Examples
Most people land here to settle one question before they build or grade their own: what does a finished genogram actually look like? A strong one is easy to spot. It shows three clean generations stacked top to bottom, marks who the index person is, carries at most one or two emotional overlays that earn their place, and gives a legend for any shading. A weak one crams in every line type at once, leaves the reader guessing who the chart is about, and skips the key — so a grader has to reverse-engineer the notation instead of reading the family.
The example below is the strong version. Read it bottom-up, the way a clinician does: start at Mark, the index person, then look up to see who shaped him.
Read it symbol by symbol
- Three generations: grandparents (Robert & Mary) at the top, the parents (David & Susan) in the middle, the children (Mark & Emma) at the bottom. Three is the floor — you need a grandparent, a parent, and a child before a pattern can repeat and show itself.
- Shape and age: squares are male, circles are female; the number inside each is the person's age. No shading here, so no legend is owed.
- Marriage lines: the solid horizontal line joins a married couple, and the children drop from the middle of it. Follow a vertical line down and you have found someone's parents.
- Deceased: the X across Robert marks that he has died. The square stays — you never erase a person from a family.
- Index person: Mark carries a doubled outline. That second square is the whole point of an example — it tells the reader, in one glance, whose chart this is.
- One emotional overlay: the red zigzag between Mark and Emma reads as conflict between the siblings. One overlay, placed where it matters. Stack four or five and the family disappears under the lines.
Open one and make it yours
Reading an example only gets you so far. Each card below loads a built family straight into the maker, so you can rename people, redraw a line, add the index marker, and export your own PDF. Start from a working chart instead of a blank canvas. No account, no install.
Three-generation family
The worked example above — Robert, Mary, David, Susan, Mark, and Emma. Open it and edit it live.
Couple with emotional lines
A married couple in conflict, with a close parent–child bond — shows structural vs. emotional lines.
Where the same example goes next
The shapes and lines above do not change from one assignment to the next; what changes is the layer you add on top. A family genogram stays close to one household and its emotional ties. A social work genogram pairs the same chart with an ecomap of outside supports — school, church, a caseworker. A cultural genogram brings in heritage and migration, often with shading that finally does earn a legend. Learn to read the example on this page and every one of those becomes a variation, not a new language.
Build a genogram like this — free
Add people, draw relationships, and export a clean PDF or PNG. No download, works on any device.
Open the genogram makerKeep reading
- Genogram symbols — every shape and line, with a visual key.
- Genogram key — the legend in a compact, printable form.
- How to make a genogram — build one of these step by step.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a genogram example look like?
- A genogram example shows a family across three generations using squares (males) and circles (females), connected by marriage and parent–child lines, with extra lines marking emotional relationships. The diagram on this page is a worked example you can read symbol by symbol.
- What is a 3-generation genogram example?
- It is the standard example: grandparents at the top, their children (the parents) in the middle, and the grandchildren at the bottom. Three generations is the minimum needed to see patterns repeat across a family.
- How do I make a genogram like these examples?
- Open the free genogram maker, add the index person, then use Add parents and Add child to build the three generations. To add an emotional relationship, select a person and tap Connect to another person (or Shift-click on desktop), then export a clean PDF or PNG.