The female symbol in genograms is a circle. This foundational shape represents all female family members — mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers — and serves as the basis for additional notation like deceased status, medical conditions, and emotional patterns.
Female
Circle shape
With Age
Age inside shape
Index Person
Double border
Female: Circle shape in standard genogram notation
In standard genogram notation established by McGoldrick, Gerson, and Petry, a female is represented by a circle. The circle is drawn at a consistent size and can contain the person's age or initials. The name and birth year are usually written below or beside the shape.
According to McGoldrick, Gerson, and Petry in Genograms: Assessment and Treatment: "Females are indicated by a circle." This convention has been used consistently since the formalization of genogram notation in the 1980s and is universally recognized in family therapy and medical genetics.
The circle shape is the foundation. Additional information is layered on top of or around it:
Written below the circle. First name is sufficient for most clinical work. Maiden name may be included in parentheses when relevant.
Age is written inside the circle or birth year below it. Some practitioners write both: "38" inside and "b. 1987" below.
Written near the symbol when relevant to the clinical context. Useful for understanding family dynamics and caretaking patterns.
Color fills or annotations indicate conditions: orange for alcoholism, half-fill for carriers, and other conventions per the practitioner's system.
The basic circle can be modified to convey additional information:
The circle-for-female convention originates from medical genetics pedigree charts used since the early 20th century. When Murray Bowen and later Monica McGoldrick formalized genogram notation for family therapy, they adopted the existing scientific convention to ensure consistency across disciplines — a genogram drawn by a therapist could be read by a geneticist, and vice versa.
The rounded shape of the circle is immediately distinguishable from the angular square, which is essential when reading complex multi-generational diagrams with many family members.
When drawing genograms by hand, keep all circles the same size for consistency. Uneven sizes can unintentionally suggest importance or dominance. In digital tools like GenogramAI, symbol sizes are standardized automatically, ensuring a clean and professional output.
Standard genogram conventions place family members in specific positions:
Monica McGoldrick's research highlights that women often serve as the "kinkeepers" of family systems — maintaining family connections, organizing gatherings, and carrying family history. When constructing a genogram, women in the family often provide the most detailed information about extended family relationships, making them key informants in the assessment process.
Tracking the roles, occupations, and life choices of women across generations can reveal important patterns: educational attainment trends, shifting career expectations, changes in marriage age, and evolving family structures that reflect broader cultural shifts.
Square — basic male representation
X through shape — indicates death
Small filled circle — pregnancy loss
Full-size symbol with X — death at birth
The circle convention comes from medical genetics pedigree charts, where circles represented females and squares represented males. When genogram notation was formalized for family therapy in the 1980s, these shapes were adopted for consistency with the broader scientific community.
Yes. Modern genogram practice includes a diamond or question mark shape for individuals who identify as non-binary, gender non-conforming, or whose gender is unknown. GenogramAI supports these options in the gender selection.
The index person (identified patient or focus of the genogram) is indicated by a double-lined circle — essentially a circle within a circle. This immediately identifies who the genogram centers on.
A pregnancy is shown as a small triangle connected to the mother's circle. If the sex is known, a small square (male) or small circle (female) is used instead of a triangle. The expected due date may be noted nearby.
Yes, when relevant. Maiden names can be important for tracking family lineage, especially in cultures where women change their surname at marriage. Write the maiden name in parentheses next to or below the married name: "Sarah Johnson (Smith)."
GenogramAI makes it easy to add female family members and build complete multi-generational family diagrams with standard notation.
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