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Let's say someone was born June 1, 1984. Today is April 28, 2014.

This person is 29 years old, as June 1 has not come yet. However, if I were merely looking at the years, I would say this person is 30 years old.

What would the practice of (current year - birth year) be called?

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    I don't know if it is commonly used, but I would call it confusing :)
    – oerkelens
    Commented Apr 28, 2014 at 21:53
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    I think it is an approximate age vs. an exact age.
    – JLG
    Commented Apr 29, 2014 at 4:18
  • @oerkelens this is often used in age categories for sports competitions and it is often worded on the lines of: "athletes must be of X age by the end of the year/31 December"; but I don't know of a specific word that exactly describes the practice.
    – msam
    Commented Apr 29, 2014 at 7:27
  • "athletes must be of X age by 31 Dec" would normally be understood to mean they must have had their Xth birthday sometime this year. This is similar to the way some countries/states organise children attending school - e.g. Grade 1 is for children who turn 5 sometime during the calendar year.
    – Jeffrey Kemp
    Commented Apr 29, 2014 at 8:05

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In western thought we consider someone who has reached their 1st birthday is 1 year old - i.e. we round down. So on June 1 2014 your person will be considered to be 30 years old, and until then he is 29 years old.

In some cultures, a part of a unit is considered one unit (i.e. they round up), and calendar years are used. For example, for a person born in December 2000, they will be described as being in their 2nd year through 2001, and in 2002 will be in their 3rd year. [citation needed]

(current year - birth year) evaluates to the age of the person in the current calendar year, i.e. the age they will be on their birthday this year. You might call this their "age this year" as opposed to their "current age", but I don't think these terms are widely used or would necessarily be understood by everyone this way.

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  • I have come across the part of a unit is a unit calculation, basically age is not expresses as the number of years you have lived, but as the ordinal number indicating the year of life. So when a person is born, they are in their first year, hence they are said to be 1 year. Citation: when I met my Greek wife, she claimed to be older than I said I was, because she used this system. However, she did not count in calender years.
    – oerkelens
    Commented Apr 29, 2014 at 8:00
  • @oerkelens yes - and I believe this same counting is used in the Jewish culture as well - e.g. He was raised on the third day (buried on Friday, remained buried through Saturday, and raised on Sunday)
    – Jeffrey Kemp
    Commented Apr 29, 2014 at 8:03
  • This is why people celebrated the turn of the millennium one year early.
    – Neil W
    Commented May 29, 2014 at 13:25
  • My mother does this too: if she's being somewhat precise, she'll say "he's turning 40" or "he will be 40", but 9 times out of 10, she gets sloppy and just says "he's 40", even though it's February and his birthday is in November.
    – Marthaª
    Commented May 29, 2014 at 13:57
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As a way of communicating this number you could say

"Fred is celebrating his 30th birthday this year"
"This year Wilma celebrates her 30th birthday"
"Barney turns 30 this year"
"Betty is 30 this year"

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