last updated 29 May 2019
Birthdates by Generation
GenerationBirth Dates1
CommonPewBarkleyCensus
Bureau
Lost Generation - Generation of 19141890-1915 
G.I. or Builder1901-1924 
Greatest Generation (Tom Brokaw)1910-19241901-1927
Silent Generation (Traditionalists)1925-19441928-19451925-1945
Baby Boomer1945-19631946-19641946-19631946-1964
Gen X (Buster) or 13ers21964-19801965-19801964-1978 
Millennials
(Net Generation, Gen Y or N Gen, Mosaic, Bridger, Echo Boom)3
1981-19941981-19961979-19951982-2000
Gen Z or
the Digital Generation
1995-20121996-2010
Generation Alpha 4 2013-2025
There is an average of 16 years per generation, but boundaries are determined by demographic shifts e.g. the end of WWII.

There isn't much of a consensus on generation definitions. There are many different date ranges for the generations.

Census Bureau
Boomer, Millennial

The Silent generation was coined in the November 5, 1951 cover story of Time to refer to the generation within the United States coming of age at the time (born from 1923 to 1933).

1. The most popular dates for Gen X are 1965-1980, but some place Gen X from 1965-1976. Other sources have dates varying from 1960-1970 to 1965-1975.

2. The generation after Gen X has been called Gen Y, the Net Generation (N Gen), Echo Boomers, Mosaic, the Bridger Generation and the Millennial generation.
The term "Bridger" comes from Thom S. Rainer's book "The Bridger Generation: America's Second Largest Generation, What They Believe, How to Reach Them", 1997

3. The Xers are the 13th generation to be born since the American Revolution.

4. Futurist, demographer, and TEDx speaker Mark McCrindle is leading the campaign to call anyone born after 2010 a part of Generation Alpha. (What is Generation Alpha? - Business Insider)



The Millennial generation continues to grow as young immigrants expand its ranks.
Source Millennials projected to overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation | Pew Research


Source: The Birth Years of Millennials and Generation Z - Barkley
Posted on askville.amazon.com by missag on Apr 21 2008 (5 months ago)
The generation before the the Baby Boomers was the "Silent Generation". Some of the dates differ based on authors, but here's the general list.

Here is a list of the years and generations

1927-1945 - Silent Generation or Traditionalists
1946-1964 - Baby Boomers
1965-1983 - Gen X or the Busters
1984- 2002 - Gen Y or the Millennials
2003- Current Gen Z or the Digital Generation

Silent Generations - born around, or parented by, those of The Great Depression of 1929 & children of the WWII gen.; marriage is for life; labor union generation; Korean and Viet Nam War generation; in grade school, the gravest teacher complaints were about passing notes and chewing gum in class; readers; the Big-Band/Swing music generation; strong sense of trans-generational common values and near-absolute truths; dsiciplined, self-sacrificing, & cautious.

Baby Boomers - the "me" generation; "rock and roll" music gen.; ushered in the free love and societal "non-violent" protests which triggered violence; self righteous & self-centered; buy it now and use credit; too busy for much neighborly involvement yet strong desires to reset or change the common values for the good of all; the first TV generation; quite conversational & skilled vocal & writer advocates; poor on marital skills...the first divorce generation; begin "gay toleration"...AIDS begins and is first lethal infectious disease in the history of any culture on earth which was not subjected to any quarantine what-so-ever because of a beginning obsession of individual rights prevailing over the common good...especially if it is applicable to any type of minority group; optimistic, driven, team-oriented.

Generation X - raised by the career and money conscious Boomers amidst the societal disappointment over governmental authority and the Viet Nam war and the scoff-law attitudes coming out of the protest times; school problems about drugs; late to marry (after cohabitation) and quick to divorce...many single parents; are iconographic...clothes lables are large & shows of caring (turning out for a worthy-cause rally) are fully sufficient expressions (while government, charities, agencies will see to the work of it); want what they want and want it now but struggling to buy; conversationally shallow because relating consists of shared time watching video movies; short on loyalty & wary of commitment; all values are relative...must tolerate all peoples; self-absorbed and suspicious of all organization; computer generation; survivors as individuals; cautious; skeptical, unimpressed with authority, self-reliant.

Generation Y - Facebook, MySpace, SMS and other instant communication technologies may explain Generation Y's reputation for being peer oriented and for seeking instant gratification. Generation Y, like other generations, is shaped by the events, leaders, developments and trends of its time. Members of this generation are facing higher costs for higher education than previous generations. Sources: class on "Connecting Across Generations"


James Choung, Director of Evangelism at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, defines the spiritual question that people are asking…depending on when they were born as follows.
Born generation Spiritual Orientation
before 1943 The Greatest Generation Trust Others
1943-1962 Baby boomers "What is Truth?"
1963-1985 Gen X "What is Real?"
1985-2004 Millennials "What is Good?"
After 2004 Post-Millenials
(the iGeneraton)
What is Beautiful or
What Inspires Awe?

Source: ECO of Presbyterians National Gathering

Millenial Marketing from Barkley and Futurecast.
Voice of Generations:
Boomers - John Lennon, Bob Dylan
Gen X - Kurt Cobain - Nirvana

The following chart comes from Northern California Settlers, a genelogical study of 8 pioneering California families in generation 6, born between 1839-1863. We arbitrarly labeled the Great Great Great Grandchildren of these poiners generation 1 (centered with birthdates around 2000.)


See Builder, Boomer, X, Y below.

  Because women tended to get married earlier, maternal lines have more generations in a given time. e.g. Anna Price (an ancestor following a purely maternal line) was born in 1750 and is generation 10; Thomas McBride (a paternal line) was born in 1749 and is generation 8.
  The average family for generation 6 spanned 20+ years (from youngest to oldest child), so the generation boundaries spread out as you move forward and backward from generation 6.
  There are about 200 generation 2 descendants of these California Settlers with birthdates from 1949 to 1998.

Birth-dates

Gen Median  Range
  1       1978-present
  2  1971 1949-1998
  3  1945 1922-1970
  4  1915 1896-1933
  5  1883 1865-1895
  6  1853 1839-1863
  7  1820 1789-1845
  8  1798 1749-1822
|Gen   Range
|  9  1729-1805
| 10  1698-1764
| 11  1673-1735
| 12  1637-1709
| 13  1590-1668
| 14  1567-1655
| 15  1540-1620
| 16  1515-1573
| 17  1483-1538
|Gen   Range
| 18  1442-1503
| 19  1420-1470
|  See Finley Ancient Roots for
|  speculation on dates below.
| 30  950-1000
| 57  14 AD
| 98   1700 BC
| 125  2,350-2,900 BC Noah
| 134  3760 - 5200 BC Adam

Each generation averaged from 32-42 yrs. up to Noah.
Generations from Adam to Noah were several hundred years according to the Bible. Because your number of ancestors doubles each generation (2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents), after about 30 generations the number of a persons ancestors exceeds the world population. The fallacy in this argument is that prior to 100 years ago a lot of people married 2nd and 3rd cousins, so lines tend to merge quickly as you move back.


GENERATIONS

Links:
The Birth Years of Millennials and Generation Z - Barkley
The Generations 1890-2025 - Which Generation are You?
Millennials projected to overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation | Pew Research
Millenial Marketing
The Generation Guide - Millennials, Gen X, Y, Z and Baby Boomers | FourHooks
Pre/Post-Modernism
The Who, When and What of Gen X, Y, Z & Generation Alpha - Mark McCrindle, McCrindle Research
US Population by Age and Generation - knoema.com
• U.S. population by generation, 2017 | Statistic
STORM Technologies | Five Insights for Implementing a Successful Performance and Rewards System across generations
generations millennials z - Google Search