Kann man, allerdings ist es eher scherzhaft gemeint, vor allem, wenn es sich dabei um eine ältere Person handelt.

Dazu gibt es auch schon ein paar Diskussionen : Siehe Wörterbuch: Geburtstagskind

Der Tenor dort ist : eher nicht ... wenn, dann innerhalb der Familie oder im Scherz ...

Edith hatte die #1 vor dem Absenden nicht gesehen ...

I agree with ## 1 and 2. But I think we use birthday boy or girl far more often than birthday child (cue for someone to find masses of Google hits disproving this), and certainly for an adult I would use boy or girl if anything.

Support #3

Birthday boy wouldn't surprise me.
Don't use birthday child for an adult, maybe not even for a specific child.

I support all the previous comments and would only add that birthday person is the one you can use for anyone, any age. It's perfectly normal, and what we say in my family. Or when you say there's a birthday in a group at a restaurant, the waiter might ask, 'Who's the birthday person?'

Birthday boy/girl only for children, or humorously for the kind of men who like being called boys or women who like being called girls. Or indeed, for senior citizens in the nursing home who are maybe already a little childish mentally -- but that can be condescending, like nurses saying 'we' in that faux-cheerful tone of voice.

Birthday child only for younger children, and only in contexts where the gender of a specific child is not known -- like, say, maybe a discussion of how teachers should observe birthdays in a school classroom, or the best games for birthday parties.

I don't think 'birthday person' has made it over here.

I would use birthday person, if at all, only the way several of us have suggested for birthday child, i.e., only when speaking generically.

Doesn't "birthday person" drip suspiciously of that "gender neutrality" nonsense, where the left falls all over themselves. :-))

No.

At least it's polite and friendly, and not dripping with scorn for other people.

I don't think "birthday boy" or "girl" are "dripping with scorn" at all. In fact, I'd consider them endearments if anything. Silly endearments at times, sure.

hm - us feels more need than I do to find gender-neutral terms.

Maybe she is from the generation that grew up with this (birth announcement).
http://doonesbury.washingtonpost.com/strip/ar...

I didn't mean any of the terms in this thread; I meant the comment in #8 and others in the same vein by the same user.

In fact, I don't actually think 'birthday person' is likely to have much of anything to do with modern inclusive language. My family has used it for at least half a century, and I assume my parents wouldn't have unless someone in their families had too. I was surprised none of you seemed familiar with it.

Nach meinem Empfinden trifft #1 genauso für den deutschen Begriff zu.

For the record, I've never heard 'birthday child', let alone 'birthday person'. 'Birthday boy/girl' seems okay to me for any age.

I'm not sure I understand #13. Birthday child, as applied to a known person, doesn't really work in English for a child, and certainly not for an adult.

Meine #13 bezieht sich auf KATRINAs OP
Im Deutschen geht das ja.
 
Darauf möchte ich dudes Einschränkung aus #1 anwenden
allerdings ist es eher scherzhaft gemeint
 
Im Klartext: Ein Geburtstagskind ist ein Kind. Die Anwendung auf einen Erwachsenen ist zwar auch üblich, aber nur im scherzhaften Sinn.

I also don't recall ever hearing "birthday child" or "birthday person"; and I think a waiter or barman would ask "Who's the one whose birthday it is today?", "Which one of you has a birthday?" - things like that, depending on the situation. Asking "Who's the birthday person?" sounds a little odd (and formal) to my BE ears.

Thank you very much everybody.

I (and others, I think) still disagree with #1, #13 and #16 to the extent they say or imply that it is at all normal to use the term birthday child for adults, even in jest.

Re #1: I was actually talking about "birthday boy/girl" more than "child." The "child" didn't even register at first. And in #10 I also only mention "boy" and "girl." I agree that while it's not entirely unheard of (IMO), "birthday child" for an adult would be unusual.

Ich weiß, dass dies ein alter Faden ist, aber ich habe auch gerade nach einer Entsprechung zum deutschen Geburtstagskind gesucht. Dazu eine Anmerkung und eine Frage:

Birthday child sounds Denglish to me.

Perhaps something on the order of: Somebody's having a birthday (on day, on date or whatever if that's important), and they've asked that donations be made to XYZ instead of/in lieu of gifts.

"to have a birthday" sounds like Denglish to me.

I have no idea where "Denglish" in #24 is coming from. The phrase appears frequently in both AE and BE sites -- and not just "having a birthday party" or similar. Plus, the suggestion of "whose birthday it is" is wordy and unclear -- what if their birthday is in 2 weeks?

And "birthday child" may seem Denglish to some (like #22) as well, but it's not, at least not in AE (and imo).

You could try 'the celebrant,' but that could sound accidentally religious. Maybe 'the honoree'?

Or if this is from the point of view of the charity, without revealing the donor's name, could you just say something like 'We are grateful to a longtime supporter of Project XYZ who recently requested donations to our cause in lieu of birthday presents.'

Yes to #23 and #25.