  We introduce the notion of a relative of the Hermitian curve of degree
$\sqrt{q}+1$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$, which is a plane curve defined by
\[(x^{\sqrt{q}}, y^{\sqrt{q}}, z^{\sqrt{q}})A {}^t \!(x,y,z) =0\] with $A \in
GL(3, \mathbb{F}_q)$, and study their basic properties together with various
examples. One of the basic properties is that the number of
$\mathbb{F}_q$-points of any relative of the Hermitian curve of degree
$\sqrt{q}+1$
