"Generation Z" is a tentative name for the generation born after Generation Y.

According to the book Generations, this generation, which the authors (William Strauss and Neil Howe) simply call "New Adaptive" pending a name reflecting their observed character, will be born from 2004 to 2025 (their later book, The Fourth Turning , uses the name "New Silent" instead). However, some observers place this generation's first birth year earlier, perhaps 1997, on the grounds that a person born in that year could not expect to have any first-hand memory of the September 11, 2001 attacks; indeed, the alternate name of Homelander Generation has been proposed to convey the essence of this.

Conceptually, their great-grandparents belong mostly to the Silent Generation (with whom Strauss and Howe expect them to have similar life experiences), and the Baby boomers form the core of their grandparents. Their parents are seen as being roughly evenly divided between Generation X and Generation Y (13ers and Millennials, respectively, to Strauss and Howe); their children will be born from approximately 2026 to 2069, while their typical grandchildren will be born from 2069 to 2091. These future dates are assuming that generations have an average length of 22 years; the years given are the top of the bell curve (these estimates would need to be revised to reflect earlier dates if indeed their first birth year is ultimately accepted to be 1999).

This generation will likely have an extremely long reach, with many living into the 22nd century. Many may even live to see the arrival of babies that will live into the 23rd century, babies that will look back on John F. Kennedy as Kennedy himself looked back on George Washington.