# What is first decade of 21st century called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 7, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364 "2012-06-07T09:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/21 "2012-06-26T12:40:07Z")
I have proposed “The g00gles” several times but nobody else has taken up the banner to date. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/22 "2012-06-26T13:43:13Z")
Nobody respects my “2K’s”, even though we started the decade with the Y2K scare. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/23 "2012-06-26T16:25:44Z")
How about one big effing mess? If there was ever possible to take a mulligan, the first decade of the 21st century would be it. That’s sad considering how well the 20th century was ending: Democracy taking root in Eastern Europe, the U.S. taking a _peace dividend_ and reducing military spending, the federal budget was being balanced, there was full employment, and the President was getting some. (Unfortunately, we all had to hear about it in detail, but not everything can be perfect). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/24 "2012-07-12T19:09:30Z")
“Two thousands” works fine for me. I’ve used it quite a few times, and never been misunderstood, as far as I know. Works best when the conversational (or textual, in which case “2000s”) context is appropriate to decade-talk. I wouldn’t use “early 2000s”, as someone suggested, because this suggests “2000-2005,” I would say. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/25 "2012-07-12T19:38:49Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I’ll bet you that the first decade of the 21st century won’t get named until we start naming the one we are currently in ‘the teens’. Then, we may well choose ‘the beginning of the century’ or something equally cumbersome until some crafty young person coins a new term which will catch on like wildfire and forever sunder our populace into those who ‘get it’ and those who don’t. I was reviewing my old posts the other day, and I see that on at least three occasions I said that we would wait until the teens, and then start calling it the “turn of the century”. This is pretty much what we did last time. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/26 "2012-07-12T19:57:47Z")
The first decade of the 21st century has no common name. Oh, there have been attempts to give it one but none of them have really caught on. I wouldn’t sweat it though. The second decade too has no name and it won’t be until we reach 2020 that we’ll have familiar decade terms again. Precisely the same thing occurred for the first two decades of the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/27 "2012-07-12T22:00:03Z")
I call it the 2000’s. To me, since we’re only in 2012, then of course it refers to only the decade and not the entire thousand year period from 2000-2999. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/28 "2012-07-13T00:57:06Z")
As I understand it, 1901-1910 was collectively called “Turn of the Century.” So 2001-2010 can be collectively called “The Millennium.” Purists won’t like it, but it sure sounds better than any alternative. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/29 "2012-07-13T12:41:36Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > As I understand it, 1901-1910 was collectively called “Turn of the Century.” So 2001-2010 can be collectively called “The Millennium.” Purists won’t like it, but it sure sounds better than any alternative. Not sure I get the parallel here. Perhaps you meant to write “turn of the millenium”? 'Cause it sure as heck ain’t no millenium. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/30 "2012-07-15T15:08:42Z")
I’d also say the “two thousands.” From context, it should be clear if you mean the first decade, or the entire century. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/31 "2012-07-15T15:19:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What did we call the previous century’s 00s decade? The nineteen hundreds is probably the most common. (Then the nineteen tens, the twenties, the thirties…) > > I’ve never heard anyone genuinely call the 2000s the naughties. I think we’ll probably settle on the two thousands as time goes on. Yeah, this is what I was thinking. (Fooey on you, Leaf.) Anyway, I have my own suggestion. I’m sure it will take off across the US and then the world. **Let’s call them the OOgles!** It’smore dignified than the Noughties and shows we’re not all bawdy. Well, okay, maybe not dignified exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/32 "2012-07-15T23:01:44Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > **Let’s call them the OOgles!** cough…post #21…cough ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/33 "2019-10-08T20:00:19Z")
Bumped. Just saw this about a third of the way down in this article - the first time I’ve seen the phrase used other than in a discussion of what to call the decade: “Since the mid-noughties, any non-US citizen who travels to the United States gets their picture taken and fingerprints scanned on arrival.” > **[How facial recognition is taking over airports | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/airports-facial-recognition/index.html)** > > Passengers traveling through airports across the world are increasingly likely to have their face scanned. The technology promises increased security and smoother transit, but critics say this creeping surveillance will impact personal freedom. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/34 "2019-10-10T23:25:05Z")
The Double Ohs? ---
**Author:** ![Crossbreed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Crossbreed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crossbreed)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364/35 "2019-10-11T01:43:55Z")
How about the 0-ties [pronounced _oh-tees_]…? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-first-decade-of-21st-century-called/624364.md?page=1)