Boomers Millennials Gen X - Generation Names Explanation

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Boomers Millennials Gen X - Generation Names Explanation

Find out which generation you belong to and how it got its name.

People born around the same time in history are bound to have a few things in common, like their relationship with technology, politics, parenting styles, major news events, and economics. 

For most of the 20th century, we've categorized these groups into generations. Names like Generation X and Generation Z are likely familiar to most of us but do you know about the Silent Generation or the Lost Generation? 

There's a lot to learn about how each generation got its nicknames and stereotypes and when each generation starts and ends. 

If you need clarity, read on. Here, you'll find a breakdown of how these classifications started and who belongs where.

Gen Alpha: Born After 2010
Generation Alpha is the first to grow up in a wholly digital world. Mark McCrindle, founder of the Australian consultancy firm McCrindle Research, introduced the term: "It conforms to the scientific nomenclature of using the Greek alphabet instead of the Latin alphabet, and there was no point in going back to A; after all, they are the first generation born fully into the 21st century, and therefore they are the start of something new, not a return to the old."

Gen Z: Born 1997–2010
Generation Z received its nickname as part of the alphabetical naming trend that started with Generation X (more on that later) two generations ago. However, Jean Twenge, Ph.D., helped coin another popular moniker in her book, iGen, which explores the rise of the first generation to grow up with smartphones. Many members of Gen Z came of age at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which greatly altered their young adult lives.

Millennial Generation: Born 1981–1996
The Millennial Generation got its nickname because its oldest members became adults at the turn of the millennium. During the early '90s, media outlets often used the term "Generation Y" to describe those born immediately after Generation X. 

Howard and Strauss use the term "Millennial" in their 1991 book to describe the cohort, while Advertising Age is credited with using the term in a 1993 editorial. It wasn't until 2015 that the Millennial generation officially outnumbered the Baby Boomers, and in 2020, they became the country's most dominant generation in terms of numbers. Millennials are also known for bringing about a "baby bust," or a sharp decrease in the birth rate.

Xennial Generation: Born 1977 to 1983
The Xennials are the first microgeneration on our list. Writer Sarah Stankorb first introduced this term in an article titled "Reasonable People Disagree about the Post-Gen X, Pre-Millennial Generation." She notes that the generation of people born between 1977 and 1983 "serves as a bridge between the disaffection of Gen X and the blithe optimism of Millennials."

Gen X: Born 1965–1980
Howe and Strauss originally suggested the name "Thirteeners" to describe this generation, but it didn't stick. (It came about because they were the 13th generation born since the American Revolution). Instead, Canadian author Douglas Coupland was the one to give Gen Xers their most popular title. In 1991, his novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, a story about a group of 20-somethings looking for better meaning in life, was published.

Generation Jones: Born 1955 to 1964
Generation Jones is also considered a "microgeneration," or a group of individuals born at the end of one generation and the beginning of another. The term Generation Jones was coined by television producer Jonathan Pontell. According to Pontell, the title aptly describes the competition these individuals felt with the Baby Boomers and the sense that they needed to continue "keeping up with the Joneses." It also lends itself to the perceived increase in drug use during that time and the associated slang.

Baby Boomer Generation: Born 1946 to 1964
The Baby Boomer Generation consists of individuals born during the U.S. baby boom that followed World War II. The term first appeared in a 1941 issue of LIFE Magazine in an article detailing the dramatic spike in births following the Great Depression and the Peacetime Draft of 1940 and claiming that “the U.S. baby boom is bad news for Hitler.”

The Silent Generation: Born 1928 to 1945
Time first introduced the term "Silent Generation" in a 1951 article that read, "By comparison with the Flaming Youth of their fathers and mothers, today's younger generation is a still, small flame. It does not issue manifestoes, make speeches, or carry posters." Born into great uncertainty, individuals from this group were often written off as unimaginative and withdrawn.

The Greatest Generation: Born 1901–1927
This generation would not receive its designation until 1991, when Howe and Strauss first hit the scene. In Generations, they refer to the generation tasked with fighting World War II as the G.I. Generation, G.I. standing for "government issue."

The Lost Generation: Born 1883-1910
The idea of naming each generation didn't take hold until the 20th century, when author Gertrude Stein began referring to people who came of age during the First World War as "The Lost Generation." Her intention was to capture the disillusionment present in post-World War I society.