The term thirty something was initially introduced during the 1980s to describe a person of the baby boom generation, born during the 1940s and 1950s. It has now entered common usage in the English language to describe a person between the ages of 30-39.

Almost immediately after the introduction of the 1980s television show, thirtysomething, the term thirty something became a catch phrase used to designate baby boomers in their thirties. This cultural shift was reinforced by the Oxford English Dictionary which added thirty something in 1993 (under the word thirty) and defined the term as one which became:

popularized as a catch-phrase by the U.S. television programme thirtysomething, first broadcast in 1987...applied to members of the 'baby boom' generation entering their thirties in the mid-1980s; also attrib. or as adj. phr. (hence, characteristic of the tastes and lifestyle of this group).

In the early 1990s, the term twenty something was introduced to describe a younger generation.

Trivia

• On the model of quadragenarian for 40-49 years old, quinquagenarian for 50-59, and so on, tricenarian could be a valid term, but this term is not in common use.

See also

• Ageing
• Baby boomers
• Yuppies

Aging