baby boomlet

Noun

baby boomlet (plural baby boomlets)

1. (singular, singular-only) An increase in birth rate that occurred when the baby boomers reached childbearing age.
   • The baby boomlet was a period marked by increases in the number of women of childbearing age and increases in fertility rates of those women.2002, Laura E. Hill, Hans P. Johnson, Understanding the Future of Californians' Fertility, page 87
   • Cashing in on the baby boomers' baby boomlet of the '80s and '90s, the children's apparel market saw a significant increase and was among the fastest-growing segments of the overall retail market.2011, Entrepreneur Press, Start Your Own Clothing Store and More
2. A child of a baby boomer, born during the baby boomlet.
   • Over a long-term period, population growth would be affected by changing birth rates due to shifts in social values and movement of age cohorts such as baby-boomers and baby-boomlets through the child-bearing years.2000, Washington State Labor Area Summaries - Volume 15, page 12
   • Baby boomlets (consumers born between 1977 and 1997 and also known as "Gen Y") have emerged as the next cohort since the baby boomers to receive the close attention of retailers (Bounds, 2000).2002, Journal of Retailing - Volume 78, page 78

   Synonyms:

   echo boomer

3. Any spike in birth rate that is smaller than the baby boom.
   • Following the Second World War there were "baby boomlets" in Europe, but these lasted for only a year or two, unlike the prolonged birth rise in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States.1992, Gary R. Collins, Baby Boomer Blues, page 6
   • "There've been two baby boomlets, one now going into middle school or junior high, and a new one that has just come, ages one, two, or three," says Donovan.2000, Catherine Frey Murphy, Vicki Hambleton, Joan Broerman, Children's Writer Guide To 2000, page 20