Generation Years Chart
| Generation | Born | Age today |
|---|---|---|
| Greatest Generation (G.I. Generation) | 1901 – 1927 | |
| Silent Generation (Traditionalists) | 1928 – 1945 | |
| Baby Boomers (Boomers) | 1946 – 1964 | |
| Generation X (Gen X) | 1965 – 1980 | |
| Millennials (Gen Y) | 1981 – 1996 | |
| Generation Z (Gen Z, Zoomers) | 1997 – 2012 | |
| Generation Alpha (Gen Alpha) | 2013 – 2024 | |
| Generation Beta (Gen Beta) | 2025 – 2039 |
Years through Generation Z follow the Pew Research Center, the definitions most widely used by journalists and researchers. Pew has not set official years for Generation Alpha, so this chart starts it right after Gen Z ends. Social researcher Mark McCrindle, who named Gen Alpha and Gen Beta, starts Alpha in 2010 and places Gen Beta at 2025 to 2039.
What Generation Is Each Birth Year?
- 1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers.
- 1965 to 1980: Generation X. 1980 is the last Gen X year.
- 1981 to 1996: Millennials. If you were born in 1990, you are a Millennial. 1996 is the last Millennial year.
- 1997 to 2012: Generation Z. Born in 2000 or 2005? You are Gen Z.
- 2013 to 2024: Generation Alpha. Some sources count 2010 to 2012 as Alpha too.
- 2025 onward: Generation Beta, the first generation born after 2024.
Why Generation Dates Differ Between Sources
There is no official body that sets generation years, and the boundaries are fuzzy. Some writers start Gen Z in 1995 or 1996 instead of 1997, and some end Millennials in 1994. The U.S. Census Bureau defines only the Baby Boom, from 1946 to 1964, because it is based on a measurable rise in births after World War II. The other generations are defined by researchers looking at shared experiences, such as which technology people grew up with or which major events they lived through in their teens.
Cuspers and Micro-Generations
People born near a boundary often feel they belong to both sides. A few in-between groups have their own names:
- Generation Jones (about 1954 to 1965): the later Boomers who missed the 1960s counterculture.
- Xennials (about 1977 to 1983): an analog childhood and a digital adulthood.
- Zillennials (about 1993 to 1998): between Millennials and Gen Z, early social media users.
Where the Generation Names Come From
Baby Boomers are named for the post-war spike in births. Generation X was popularized by Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel of the same name. Millennials were named because they came of age around the year 2000, and they are also called Gen Y as the generation after X. Generation Z continued the alphabet, and because it ran out, the next group was named Generation Alpha after the first letter of the Greek alphabet, followed by Generation Beta.
Want your exact age in years, months and days? Try the age calculator, or see your zodiac sign and Chinese zodiac animal.
