Born in the 1970s
People born in the 1970s are 46 to 56 years old in 2026 and belong to Generation X. The world population went from about 3.69 billion in 1970 to 4.37 billion in 1979, and the U.S. population from 207.8 million to 227.6 million.
| Born | Age in 2026 | President | Top song | Top movie | Best Picture | Top names (boy / girl) | Min. wage | Gas | Median new home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 46 or 47 | Carter | My Sharona | Kramer vs. Kramer | Kramer vs. Kramer | Michael / Jennifer | $2.90 | $0.90 | $62,750 |
| 1978 | 47 or 48 | Carter | Shadow Dancing | Grease | The Deer Hunter | Michael / Jennifer | $2.65 | $0.67 | $55,850 |
| 1977 | 48 or 49 | Ford / Carter | Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) | Star Wars | Annie Hall | Michael / Jennifer | $2.30 | $0.66 | $48,900 |
| 1976 | 49 or 50 | Ford | Silly Love Songs | Rocky | Rocky | Michael / Jennifer | $2.30 | $0.61 | $44,225 |
| 1975 | 50 or 51 | Ford | Love Will Keep Us Together | Jaws | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Michael / Jennifer | $2.10 | – | $39,275 |
| 1974 | 51 or 52 | Nixon / Ford | The Way We Were | The Towering Inferno | The Godfather: Part II | Michael / Jennifer | $2.00 | – | $36,050 |
| 1973 | 52 or 53 | Nixon | Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree | The Exorcist | The Sting | Michael / Jennifer | $1.60 | – | $32,600 |
| 1972 | 53 or 54 | Nixon | The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face | The Godfather | The Godfather | Michael / Jennifer | $1.60 | – | $27,525 |
| 1971 | 54 or 55 | Nixon | Joy to the World | Fiddler on the Roof | The French Connection | Michael / Jennifer | $1.60 | – | $25,225 |
| 1970 | 55 or 56 | Nixon | Bridge Over Troubled Water | Love Story | Patton | Michael / Jennifer | $1.60 | – | $23,475 |
Most popular names of the 1970s
Combined counts of Social Security card applicants born 1970 to 1979.
| Rank | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael (707,368) | Jennifer (581,733) |
| 2 | Christopher (475,446) | Amy (268,995) |
| 3 | Jason (462,749) | Melissa (253,268) |
| 4 | David (445,741) | Michelle (249,136) |
| 5 | James (444,749) | Kimberly (229,098) |
| 6 | John (402,636) | Lisa (228,687) |
| 7 | Robert (397,249) | Angela (225,266) |
| 8 | Brian (322,694) | Heather (203,906) |
Events that defined the 1970s
- April 13, 1970. At 10:08 PM EST an oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed "Odyssey") while en route to the Moon.
- April 17, 1970. Apollo program: The damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
- November 17, 1970. Luna programme: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.
- January 31, 1971. Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.
- February 26, 1971. U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
- July 30, 1971. Apollo program: On Apollo 15, David Scott and James Irwin in the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.
- November 23, 1971. Representatives of the People's Republic of China attend the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, for the first time.
- December 11, 1972. Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and final Apollo mission to land on the Moon.
- December 19, 1972. Apollo program: The last crewed lunar flight, Apollo 17, carrying Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.
- October 10, 1975. Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations.
- August 18, 1976. The Soviet Union's robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon.
- March 11, 1977. The 1977 Hanafi Siege: Around 150 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
Famous people born in the 1970s
- Elon Musk, South African-born American entrepreneur (1971)
- Anna Netrebko, Russian-Austrian soprano and actress (1971)
- Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada (1971)
- Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks (1971)
- Tupac Shakur, American rapper and producer (died 1996) (1971)
- Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor (1972)
- Zinedine Zidane, French footballer and manager (1972)
- Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor and producer (1974)
- Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist (1975)
- David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model (1975)
- Bradley Cooper, American actor and producer (1975)
- Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (1977)
- Emmanuel Macron, French politician, 25th President of France (1977)
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian actor, comedian, and politician, 6th President of Ukraine (1978)