How to use the what generation am i calculator
- Enter your birth year as four digits, from 1800 to 2100.
- Read the generation and the range of birth years that go with it in the list.
- To use different cutoffs, open Advanced options and change the start year of any group. Each start year must be later than the one before it.
- Use the table to see every group and its range. The row for your group is highlighted. Copy the result or share the link.
Formula
Generation = the last group whose start year is on or before the birth year
A group ends the year before the next group starts
Years after the start = birth year - start year
The start years are editable examples: 1901, 1928, 1946, 1965, 1981, 1997 and 2013. Different sources use different lines.
Worked example
With the example start years, a birth year of 1990 falls in the group that starts in 1981, which is Millennials, with birth years 1981 to 1996. That is 9 years after the group begins, and the next group, Generation Z, starts in 1997, which is 7 years after 1990.
The boundaries fall exactly on the start years: 1964 is the last Baby Boomers year, 1965 is the first Generation X year, 1996 is the last Millennials year and 1997 is the first Generation Z year. The last group has no end, so a birth year of 2020 shows 2013 and later.
Why the lines are not fixed
Generation names are labels people use to talk about groups born around the same time. They are not official categories, and nothing in law or science fixes the first or last year of a group. Researchers, news organizations and marketers draw the lines in different places, and some people prefer to talk about people born in the same decade instead.
For that reason, the start years here are shown as examples you can change. If you are working from a specific publication, open Advanced options and enter the years that publication uses. The tool then applies the same simple rule, so you get a consistent answer for any list.
Using the result
A generation label says very little about a person. People born at the edge of a range often feel they belong to neighbors on both sides. If you need an exact comparison, use the actual birth year or age rather than a label.
The birth year is not stored or sent, and it is left out of share links. For related tools, see the age calculator, the Chinese zodiac calculator and the retirement countdown calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- The default year ranges are examples and are not official. Edit them under Advanced options.
- Birth years before the first start year have no group until you lower that start year.
- Only the year is used. The month and day do not change the group.
- The names follow the common pattern of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha.
Frequently asked questions
Which years define each generation?
There is no single official answer. The tool starts with example years and lets you change them, because publications and researchers use slightly different cutoffs for the same group names.
What generation is someone born in 1980?
With the example start years, 1980 is the last year of Generation X, which runs from 1965 to 1980. Millennials begin in 1981. If you use different cutoffs, change them in the advanced options.
Do I need my exact birth date?
No. Only the birth year is used, because generation labels are defined by years. The year is not stored or sent anywhere and is left out of share links.
Can I add my own generation names?
The names are fixed, but their start years can be changed. That is usually enough, since the common difference between sources is where a group begins and ends rather than what it is called.