Query XML document with Ancestors and First
using System; using System.Collections; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using System.Data.Linq; using System.Reflection; using System.Xml.Linq; class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { XElement xml = XElement.Load("Employee.xml"); var record = xml.Descendants("firstname").First(); foreach (var tag in record.Ancestors()) Console.WriteLine(tag.Name); } }