How much does the academic family tree matter for a PhD? I remember my MSCS advisor often refers to his "academic grandfather" (his advisor's advisor Dr. Leonard Kleinrock) as the person who sent the first data packets.  Although distant, I think it is cool for him to be a descendant of someone famous.

For PhDs, have you ever traced your academic family tree?  Does it matter for those of you that are not in academia?  I am also a PhD student now and would it be too early to imagine folks in my lab as my "academic brother/sister"?

Would like to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks!
I have traced mine, using the Academic Tree website. Honestly, it's one of those things that doesn't really matter, but can be quite entertaining. It can be good for a story or two, or to better understand the history of the field, but I'd doubt it'd do much career-wise - whether it's academic or not. However, referring to academic relatives can be an interesting tool when teaching - it can give a more personal touch to an otherwise dry subject, for example.