[Ads-l] Antedating of "Baby Boom" (Post-World War II)

[Shapiro, Fred]

I had always thought that "the Baby Boom" referred to the  period from 1947 to 1961.  But in searching for antedatings I was surprised to find a lot of references to an earlier baby boom, a boom during the war rather than after it.

Fred Shapiro

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of dave at wilton.net <dave at WILTON.NET>
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2026 07:03
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Baby Boom" (Post-World War II)


Here's an earlier one applying the term prospectively to the expected post-war increase in the birthrate. This one appears to be a transitional usage of "baby boom" to mean *any* increase in the birthrate to *the* post-WWII one.


“Baby Boom Over.” Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee), 4 February 1945, 4/3. Newspapers.com.

"The Commerce Department reported Saturday night that the Nation’s birth rate, which rose 30 per cent above prewar levels in the year after Pearl Harbor, now is declining and will stay that way until the end of hostilities precipitates another baby boom."

-----Original Message-----
From: "Shapiro, Fred" <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2026 10:09am
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: [ADS-L] Antedating of "Baby Boom" (Post-World War II)



Baby Boom (OED, 2., 1948)

1946 Iola (Kansas) Register 1 May 1 / 2 (Newspapers.com)

The baby boom is creating a demand for milk out of proportion to population increases that will be sustained for several years.

Fred Shapiro

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