# So... what are we calling this decade? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398 "2009-11-13T02:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/21 "2009-11-13T13:25:23Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I’ve heard it called the noughties, too, and I like it best! I feel that anyone still wondering what to call this decade has either not heard “the noughties” or has no taste whatsoever and should not be allowed to vote. The noughties is a fantastic name for a decade. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/22 "2009-11-13T14:24:38Z")
How about 'The Decade That Drive UncleRojelio Over The Edge"? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/23 "2009-11-13T15:38:01Z")
Well, what were the 1900s? I just always refer to that decade as “the nineteen hundreds” (and yes I do mention it on a semi-regular basis, as I work in stock footage and people ask for footage from that decade) so I don’t see why this one would be any different, i.e. “the two-thousands.” ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/24 "2009-11-13T16:10:32Z")
The Britney Spears. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/25 "2009-11-13T16:19:24Z")
I thought we should call it the turn of the century (toc). That works pretty well … imagine us old codgers 20 years from now: “I remember when Apple released the iPod back in toc 1” or “I haven’t seen such a bad political decision since McCain chose Palin back in toc 8”. But no one listened to me and now it’s pretty much a moot point. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/26 "2009-11-13T16:31:08Z")
My brother and I call it the “Ooh oohs.” Like, 00. Ooh ooh. Sort of like on “Seinfeld” when they gave George the nickname of Koko as in the gorilla and then gave him an 00 Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/27 "2009-11-13T16:35:42Z")
I call it “the Zeroes” when I call it at all. 🙂 The problem with saying “the 2000s” or “the 1900s” is that these expressions are ambiguous. To me, “the 1900s” refers to an entire century, and “the 2000s” refers to an entire millennium! ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/28 "2009-11-13T16:41:07Z")
This is double’aught 9. Won’t be another one for a thousand years. Of course that’s moot since we have 2.997 years left. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![FredGarven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@FredGarven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FredGarven)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/29 "2009-11-13T17:02:35Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > It’s almost over… but have we decided? 😕 We still have another year left of this decade. It’s not over until 12:00 AM on 01/01/2011. I have been referring to it as “The 2Ks”. I don’t know why. Maybe it has something to do with satellite radio having a station that constantly proclaims to play music from the 90’s, 2K, and today. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/30 "2009-11-13T17:10:41Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > Um… that puts my decade in a nutshell. Uh-ohs. Pronounced Teletubby-style? The “_Eh_-oh’s”, said Tinkiewinkie. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/31 "2009-11-13T17:14:56Z")
> [@FredGarven](#): > > We still have another year left of this decade. It’s not over until 12:00 AM on 01/01/2011. Nicknames for decades can cover periods of time with arbitrary beginnings and ends. The Oughties can end whenever it’s popularly thought of as ending … which will be a year earlier than 12:00 AM 01/01/2011. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/32 "2009-11-13T17:26:58Z")
Look, the 80s went from Jan 1 1980 to Dec 31 1989, not 1981 to 1990. The 90s went from 1990 to 1999. Nobody is stupid enough to claim that 1990 was really part of the 80s, since the definition of the 80s is that they have an “80” somewhere in their name. Therefore, it is clear that the mumble-mumbles will be over in a month and half on Dec 31, 2009, and a new decade will start Jan 1 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/33 "2009-11-13T17:31:04Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Nicknames for decades can cover periods of time with arbitrary beginnings and ends. The Oughties can end whenever it’s popularly thought of as ending … which will be a year earlier than 12:00 AM 01/01/2011. Yes. If you wanted to talk about the 201st decade of the Common Era, then it would be 2001-2010, but people rarely (as in almost never) identify decades in the same way as they do centuries and millennia. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/34 "2009-11-13T17:35:20Z")
I don’t think just because the 200X decade is over the we have put this problem behind us. I don’t think that there is a good nickname for the next ten years. 20’s through 90’s have an easy nickname but not the other twenty years. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/35 "2009-11-13T17:43:49Z")
The naughty aughties. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/36 "2009-11-13T18:00:48Z")
> [@Bewildebeest](#): > > Maybe we should call it the “best forgotten decade”. You mean “best-forgotten decade”. What you wrote means quite the opposite of what you meant. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/37 "2009-11-13T18:08:22Z")
Wait another ten years, and then start calling it “the turn of the century”. That’s what they did last time. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/38 "2009-11-13T19:18:46Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Why? You said so? Um, precisely? I have a long and storied history of naming things. Heard of a [hot dog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog)? That was me. Note: This being GQ, I have to disclaim the above as not entirely, precisely, and literally true. For what it’s worth, I _am_ third cousins with the Congressional intern that came up with “Freedom Fries.” Also, the “Two thousands” is, anecdotally, what I have heard most when referring to this decade. Which is why I brought it up. Like most people, I don’t think there is any official name. ---
**Author:** ![shallora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@shallora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shallora)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/39 "2009-11-13T19:29:36Z")
The “Oh-Oh’s” is what everyone here in the Midwest has been calling it. At least everyone that I know, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398/40 "2009-11-13T19:40:19Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I don’t think just because the 200X decade is over the we have put this problem behind us. I don’t think that there is a good nickname for the next ten years. What’s wrong with “teens”, as in “nineteen-teens”, “twenty-teens”? Those difficult teenage years are a tough time for any century, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a name for them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/517398.md?page=3)