Genealogy Jottings

During a conversation with my daughter-in-law this week, the term “Generation X” came up. This phrase refers to a particular cohort of people born immediately after the Baby Boom, roughly from 1964 to 1980.

Several theories for the origin of the term “Generation X” exist. Some claim they named it after a popular punk band. Another hypothesis has greater appeal for me as a genealogist. According to the idea I like most, the “X” stands for the Roman numeral ten. This explanation assumes that “Generation X” refers to the tenth generation of Americans.

I like this interpretation because it places me into the relatively youthful Generation X instead of the older Baby Boomer generation! I am among the 10^th generation of my family to live in America. My earliest American ancestors, John Hall and Edward Bangs, lived ten generations back in the 1630’s Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The only problem with calling myself a member of Generation X is that no one else in popular culture actually defines the generations this way. Imagine how confusing these terms would be if we all had to count back the generations on our family trees to find out which generational label applies to us. People of the same age would belong to different generations, and the terms would become meaningless. It is more practical to define terms according to commonly-accepted ranges of birth years.

So, to the world, I remain a Baby Boomer. But in my heart I know that I am a proud member of the younger Generation X.

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