Your generation is set by your birth year: Baby Boomers were born 1946–1964, Generation X 1965–1980, Millennials 1981–1996, Generation Z 1997–2012, Generation Alpha 2013–2024 and Generation Beta from 2025. Someone born in 1990 is a Millennial.
The ranges up to Gen Z are Pew Research Center's, the most widely cited. No official body defines generations, so other sources draw the lines a year or two differently — the calculator tells you if you are near a boundary.
Worked example
Year of birth: 1990
Born in 1990: Millennials
Millennials are born from 1981 to 1996, so someone born in 1990 is in the second half of the generation, six years from the boundary with Gen Z.
Open this example in the calculator →How to use the Generation Calculator
- Enter your year of birth.
- Read your generation and its birth years.
- Check whether you are a "cusper" born near a boundary, or in a micro-generation such as the Xennials.
- See every generation and its ages this year in the table below.
Generations by birth year
| Generation | Born | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Greatest Generation | 1901–1927 | common usage |
| Silent Generation | 1928–1945 | Pew Research Center |
| Baby Boomers | 1946–1964 | Pew Research Center |
| Generation X | 1965–1980 | Pew Research Center |
| Millennials (Gen Y) | 1981–1996 | Pew Research Center |
| Generation Z | 1997–2012 | Pew Research Center |
| Generation Alpha | 2013–2024 | follows Pew's Gen Z; McCrindle uses 2010–2024 |
| Generation Beta | 2025–2039 | McCrindle |
Who decides?
Nobody, officially. The U.S. Census Bureau defines only the Baby Boom (1946–1964), because it was a measurable rise in births. The other names and ranges come from writers, researchers and marketers. Pew Research Center's ranges are the ones most often used in journalism and research, and Pew has said the end year for Gen Z is a working choice; it has not set ranges for later generations. The names Generation Alpha and Generation Beta come from the Australian social researcher Mark McCrindle.
Cuspers and micro-generations
A generation is a span of 15 to 20 years, and someone born in its first or last two or three years often identifies with the neighbouring one. Two in-between groups have names of their own: Xennials, born roughly 1977–1983, with an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood; and Zillennials, born roughly 1993–1998, between Millennials and Gen Z.
Generations are not personalities
Generations are a way of grouping people who grew up with the same events and technology — the Second World War, television, the internet, smartphones. Researchers caution that the differences between generations are usually smaller than the differences within them, and much of what is put down to a generation is really the effect of age or of the times everyone is living through.
Frequently asked questions
What generation am I if I was born in 1990?
A Millennial. Millennials (Generation Y) were born from 1981 to 1996.
What years are Gen Z?
1997 to 2012, according to Pew Research Center.
What generation is after Gen Z?
Generation Alpha, born from about 2013 (2010 by McCrindle's definition) to 2024, followed by Generation Beta from 2025.
What years are Gen X?
1965 to 1980.
Who defines the generations?
No one officially. The ranges here follow Pew Research Center up to Gen Z, and McCrindle for Gen Beta. Other sources move the boundaries by a year or two.