The generation after Gen Z is commonly called Generation Alpha. Most researchers place Generation Alpha’s birth years at 2010 through the mid 2020s. There is no official name for the cohort after Generation Alpha, although “Generation Beta” is a popular placeholder, and any final label will depend on common usage rather than a formal decision.
What is Generation Alpha?
Generation Alpha refers to children born after Gen Z, typically starting in 2010. The term was popularized by Australian social researcher Mark McCrindle, whose team outlines Alpha as roughly 2010 to 2024. Many media outlets and analysts have adopted this shorthand to describe today’s school‑age children, most of whom are the children of Millennials.
McCrindle Research defines Generation Alpha as those born from 2010 to 2024, the first cohort to spend their entire childhood in the 2010s and 2020s (McCrindle).
The start date of 2010 is practical, not official, and aligns with common 15‑year spans used in generational analysis. Some sources may extend the end year into 2025 depending on how they bracket cohorts for studies, but the mid 2020s cutoff is the norm.
What comes after Generation Alpha?
There is no widely accepted, official name for the cohort after Generation Alpha. “Generation Beta” is frequently mentioned as a likely follow on, but it remains a provisional label rather than a standard. The timing would begin once the Alpha window closes, generally in the mid 2020s, and extend for about 15 years.
Names can change as a cohort ages and its defining events become clearer. For example, Millennials were often called Gen Y in early coverage before “Millennials” took hold in the 2000s. The same could happen with the post Alpha cohort if a more resonant label emerges in media, academia, or marketing.
Who decides generation names and years?
There is no government agency or international body that officially sets generation names or exact birth years. Researchers, journalists, and marketers propose labels, then public usage either adopts them or moves on. Even major research organizations emphasize that generational categories are tools for communication, not fixed scientific units.
Pew Research Center notes that there is no single authoritative definition of generations, and it cautions against treating labels as explanations on their own (Pew Research Center).
When boundaries are needed for surveys, analysts pick reasonable cutoffs that allow comparisons. Pew’s widely cited framework defines where Millennials end and Gen Z begins for analytic consistency, while acknowledging that the lines are approximate and subject to debate (Pew methodology example).
What birth years does Generation Alpha cover?
While there is no single official range, the most common definitions are:
- 2010 to 2024, the definition popularized by McCrindle Research (source).
- 2010 to 2025, an alternative that keeps a similar 15‑year span.
These ranges maintain continuity with earlier cohorts that often span about 15 years. They also reflect that cohorts are labeled after birth trends and cultural markers become clearer. For historical context, even the much discussed Baby Boom is one of the few cohorts with a broadly standardized government referenced window, 1946 to 1964, grounded in vital statistics, but later cohorts do not have such official boundaries (U.S. Census analysis).
Why these labels matter, and their limits
Generational names provide a quick way to refer to people born around the same time who may share broad experiences, for example smartphones in childhood for Gen Alpha. They are useful for headlines and high level comparisons, and they can guide market research or education planning.
Use generation labels as descriptive shorthand, not as precise scientific categories, and avoid overgeneralizing individuals based on cohort averages (Pew guidance).
Expect the post Alpha name to settle only once the cohort’s defining events and public usage converge. Until then, “Generation Beta” is a placeholder that may or may not stick.