Can We Finally Agree on a Name For the Early 2000s?
The more nostalgic listicles I read, the more annoyed I get when the 2000s are lumped in with 1990s. I know the ’90s were awesome and we want to hold on to the plaid and Lisa-Frank glory for as long as possible, but we have to draw the line somewhere. Plus, it is hard to let go of a decade that came with a sassy catchphrase: “It’s the ’90s!”
We keep putting “Baby One More Time” Britney and “Toxic” Britney together in one snarky list because, let’s face it, there are no good terms for the 2000s. So let’s stop calling the years between 2000 and 2009 the ’90s, it’s just lazy. Here are some possible names for the 2000s. I hope we can pick one, move forward and stop doing a disservice to the pop culture of two very different decades.
The Two-Thousands
The obvious choice for years beginning with 200. . .
The Noughts
A common name used by historians and news sites when describing the decade. Though it never really caught on, The Noughts is derived from “nought,” meaning zero.
The Aughts
This was the moniker for the decade surrounding the turn of the 20th Century.
The Noughtie Aughties
This name may be too clever. I know it rhymes, but it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.
The Ohs
It is rolls off the tongue pretty easily and is a natural precursor to our present Teens—although some are referring to it as the Tens or Twenty-Tens. Whatever, I’m just jazzed that the ’20s are on their way back.
The Ooze
Gross. I hope this doesn’t catch on.
The Oh Ohs
I just like how sassy this sounds. It reminds me of Tom Haverford’s “Oh No No’s.”
The Double Ohs
Really, it’s just a catchier alternative to the Oh Ohs.
The Bonds
Get it? Like 007? James Bond? No? Nevermind.
What do you call the 2000s?
