#MicroblogMondays: What's in a name?

I was born in 1961.  Demographically speaking, I'm a member of the post-war Baby Boom, which generally describes those of us born between 1946 and 1964 (1966, by some definitions in some locations).  

That's a pretty big group, spanning 18-20 years!  And needless to say, those of us born in the latter part of the boom grew up with very different cultural references, memories, experiences and expectations than those who were born in the early years.  

I think I first became aware of (and interested in) the Baby Boomers as a group when I read a 1980 book called "Great Expectations:  America and the Baby Boom Generation" by Landon Y. Jones. (It's out of print, but I still have a paperback copy!)  It's been a while since I read it, but I seem to remember him making the point about the differences between the older and younger Boomers.  

In many ways (although not all), I relate more to the group that followed the Boomers -- Generation X (and particularly the early GenX-ers -- because Xers too are a large and diverse group!) -- than the earlier Boomers.  I assumed that GenX (the demographic cohort) got its name from the book by Douglas Coupland -- who, it should be noted, is also a 1961 baby.  :)  

But then I remembered that, even before that book was published (in 1991), there was a British punk rock band called Generation X, featuring none other than Billy Idol (born 1955).  The band was formed in 1976 (when I was 15) and broke up in 1979. (A new lineup formed in 1980 but broke up again in 1981.) 

But where did THEY get their name from?  I did some Googling and learned the band took its name from a 1964 book by Jane Deverson and Charles Hamblett about British youth (i.e., the early Baby Boomers) called (wait for it...)  "Generations X."  Billy Idol's mother owned a copy of the book (!).  

Interestingly, when I looked up Douglas Coupland and his book, and the origins of the term "Generation X,"  I learned (from Wikipedia) that Coupland's book had its genesis in a 1987 article he wrote for  Vancouver Magazine titled "Generation X.  I also learned that Coupland initially claimed that the book's title came from Billy Idol's band -- but in 1995, he told a different story. 

The book's title came not from Billy Idol's band, as many supposed, but from the final chapter of a funny sociological book on American class structure titled Class, by Paul Fussell. In his final chapter, Fussell named an "X" category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often frames modern existence.

But wait -- there's more! The same Wikipedia entry also tells us :    

The term Generation X has been used at various times to describe alienated youth. In the early 1950s, Hungarian photographer Robert Capa first used Generation X as the title for a photo-essay about young men and women growing up immediately after World War II (later called the Silent Generation). The term first appeared in print in a December 1952 issue of Holiday magazine announcing its upcoming publication of Capa's photo-essay. 

I've taken to referring to myself as either a "late Boomer" or "early GenX-er" (or sometimes "late Boomer-slash-early GenX-er").  But lately, I've noticed a lot of people referring to those of us in this nebulous group as "Generation Jones" or GenJones.  

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels like I'm straddling two worlds --  but I have to admit, I'm not particularly fond of the name "Generation Jones."  (For one thing -- who the heck is Jones supposed to be??)  

Wikipedia to the rescue again.  It defines Generation Jones as those of us born between 1954 and 1965, and says: 

The name "Generation Jones" has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a "keeping up with the Joneses" competitiveness, and, possibly the original slant, the slang word "jones" or "jonesing", meaning a yearning or craving. [Writer Jonathan] Pontell suggests that Jonesers inherited an optimistic outlook as children in the 1960s but were then confronted with a different reality as they entered the workforce, in the case of the United States, during the economic struggles of the 1970s and 1980s...  

Boomer?  GenX?  GenJones?  How about "Geriatric GenX"??  

I had a good chuckle when I saw a piece in Oldster Magazine by Lisa Borders recently, with the title "Geriatric Gen X: A Manifesto."  I'm not sure I'm eager to claim the "Geriatric" mantle either, but I did enjoy the article!  

Around the same time, I saw another early 1960s baby commenting on social media that rather than Boomer, GenXer or GenJones-er, she preferred to call herself "Mid-Century Modern,"  lol. I rather liked that one!

Any other late Boomers/early GenXers/GenJones-ers/Geriatric GenX/Mid-Century Moderns/Whatever (lol) out there?  How do you think of yourself, in generational terms? Or do you care? 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.