You’re a
Baby Boomer
1946 to 1964born 1952
Position: early Baby Boomer Cusp:
Born into the postwar boom, raised on television.
Born in 1952: Baby Boomer
A Baby Boomer (1946 to 1964), early Baby Boomer, turning 74 in 2026. No asterisks: 1952 sits well inside Boomers, 1946 to 1964.
Your year, or any other
Born 1952: you’re a Baby Boomer (1946 to 1964), early Baby Boomer. No asterisks: 1952 sits well inside Boomers, 1946 to 1964.
Where 1952 sits
1952 is early Baby Boomer: the early third of Boomers runs 1946 to 1952. Pew Research Center range, and the one generation with an official definition: the US Census Bureau uses the same 1946 to 1964 birth-rate boom.
Baby Boomers are the cohort born from 1946 to 1964, the years of the postwar surge in births. It is the only generation with an official definition: the US Census Bureau uses the same range, because it is measurable. Births jumped from about 2.9 million in 1945 to 3.4 million in 1946, passed 4 million in 1954, peaked at about 4.3 million in 1957, and stayed above 4 million until 1964. Roughly 76 million Americans were born in those nineteen years, and their size has shaped every institution they passed through, from overcrowded elementary schools in the 1950s to the strain on Social Security today. Read the full Baby Boomers page.
How old you were when…
Shared reference points, dated, so the generation label has something concrete behind it.
- age 5 Sputnik launches (1957)
- age 22 Nixon resigns (1974)
- age 34 the Challenger disaster (1986)
- age 43 Windows 95 and the dial-up boom (1995)
- age 52 Facebook launches (2004)
- age 58 the iPad and Instagram arrive (2010)
- age 64 the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election (2016)
- age 72 the hottest year on record (2024)
Milestone birthdays
Someone born in 1952 turned 18 in 1970, 21 in 1973, 30 in 1982, 40 in 1992, 50 in 2002 and 65 in 2017. Next up: 80 in 2032.
Near 1952
Born in 1952: quick answers
What generation is someone born in 1952?
Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) by the Pew Research Center definition. 1952 is early Baby Boomer.
Is 1952 a cusp year?
No. 1952 sits well inside Boomers (1946 to 1964); no source puts it in a different generation.
How old is someone born in 1952?
73 or 74 in 2026, depending on whether the birthday has passed. Type the full date into the calculator for the exact age in years, months and days.