My name has been chosen by Gen Z as the new ‘Karen’ - I’m not happy
The Tyla Team
Featured Image Credit: ChatGPT
It’s a dangerous time to be a Millennial.
First, they silently outlawed our ankle socks without actually telling anyone (don’t worry, I’ve since abandoned those), then they decided the winged eyeliner must go too (that one proudly still comes out from time to time), and then they even came for the side parting (that one’s staying, sorry – you'd understand if you saw me with a slick-back).
Now I'm under personal attack for my own damn name.
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Before I was born, my parents were planning to call me Daisy, but decided upon my arrival that I wasn’t suited to something so floral and delicate... I've tried not to take that too personally. My mother joked that they needed something more syllabic and angular, so that it could be said with purpose when inevitably telling me off.
It turns out it’s also something that would go on to become the new ‘Karen’, according to Gen Z.
Sometime in the past decade or so, the name Karen became a shortcut for the entitlement, bigotry and jaw-clenching rudeness that was regularly cropping up in viral TikTok videos, which often featured a Gen Xer or Boomer with a blonde, asymmetric bob. Even without the chunky highlights or gaudy large sunglasses, any woman of a certain age seen waggling their finger at someone was dubbed one.
But now, as we straddle 2026, we’re updating our language. The internet has moved on, as it often does, and it has landed on a name I share with many other Millennials. Everyone knows one. It was even the name of my uncle’s dog – again, I’ve tried not to take that too personally.
I am a Jessica, and Gen Z has decided we’re the new Karens.
It’s predominantly in the US, where the name is arguably less likely to be shortened to Jess, as mine did over time, but through social media, the phenomenon has gone global. Hooray.
Everywhere, we’re seeing ‘Thanks, Jessica’ or ‘Not today, Jessica’ used in online sketches, the punchline being that Jessica is the obnoxious millennial who everyone’s sick of. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to get it. She will speak to the manager on behalf of the group, and while it'll land a free bottle of prosecco, it also leaves everyone wincing. Thanks, Jessica.
And yet I couldn’t think of anything worse. I’d happily crunch through a salad full of broken glass if it meant I didn’t have to complain. If someone cuts in line, I'll do what every self-respecting coward does and curse them under my breath. I'd sooner let someone else's f**k-up ruin my entire day than face up to it.
You see, Millennials are also total pushovers – especially when it comes to our careers. We saw Boomers rise-and-grind their way to the top, but blindly adopted only the worst parts of that hustle culture: we have no boundaries, we say yes to everything, we show up to work with a leg hanging off because we feel too bad to take a sick day. We're fools, and we're no further ahead because of it.
We don’t even know what we want, let alone how to get it. We’re driven enough to strive for things, but we spent too much money on avocado toast to leave any to buy a house. Well, apparently, anyway.
We were here to witness the shift into the era of so-called 'wokeness', supposedly beloved by Gen Z and feared by the elders, meaning we’re able to understand why the movement is necessary, but sometimes flawed. In short, we are fence-sitters.
We have so many defects, but perhaps that Karen-like sense of entitlement isn't necessarily one of them (even if our ankle socks are the new asymmetric bob). On the flipside, younger generations tend to know their worth, insist on that pay rise, set limits, and understand how to push for something when needed. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But this time it's a good thing.
Unlike a traditional Karen, they've had the sense to harness that pluckiness into something more positive, and, crucially, more respectful. Plus, they tend to have better hair.
One thing's for sure, though: watch out, Gen Z... you'll be next.