In the Chinese zodiac, 1991 is the Year of the Goat, and its element is Metal. The Metal Goat year began on Friday, February 15, 1991 and ended on Monday, February 3, 1992. People born between those dates are Metal Goats. The year opened late, so anyone born from January 1 to February 14, 1991 is a Metal Horse.
What are the exact dates of the 1991 Goat year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 14, 1991 | Metal Horse |
| February 15, 1991 to February 3, 1992 | Metal Goat |
| February 4, 1992 and later | Water Monkey |
The Goat year had 12 lunar months and 354 days. It did not start until 45 days of 1991 had gone by, and it continued for 34 days of 1992.
Why did the Goat year begin in mid-February?
Because the Horse year before it ran long. That year had a leap month and lasted 384 days, which pushed the next Lunar New Year back to February 15. The details are in 1990 in the Chinese zodiac.
The practical result is that about one person in eight born in 1991 is a Horse. The element, though, is the same for all of them. Each element covers two years in a row, and 1990 and 1991 are the two Metal years.
Were you born in January or February?
- Born on January 30, 1991? You are a Horse. More on the sign: the Horse in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on February 14, 1991? A Horse, on the last day of the Horse year.
- Born on February 15, 1991? You are a Goat, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 20, 1992? A Goat too. The Monkey year did not begin until February 4.
Check any other date with the tool below; it shows the animal and element for the exact birthday. It is also on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Metal Goat mean?
The Goat is traditionally said to be gentle, artistic and kind. A Penn Museum note on the sign describes people born under it as tender, wise and polite, with a preference for quiet living. Metal is the element linked with determination, discipline and strength. The tradition combines them into a gentle sign with a firm core. This is folklore, not a finding about anyone born that year.
In the old system of year names, 1991 is xin-wei: xin is the eighth of the ten "heavenly stems," and wei is the "earthly branch" of the Goat. The cycle they form is described on our page about Chinese New Year animals. Every Goat year and the five element types are in the Goat in the Chinese zodiac, and the question of the sign's three English names is answered in Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram?
When was the last Metal Goat year, and when is the next?
| Metal Goat year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1931 | February 17, 1931 | February 5, 1932 |
| 1991 | February 15, 1991 | February 3, 1992 |
| 2051 | February 11, 2051 | January 31, 2052 |
The same animal and element meet once in 60 years. All three of these years start between February 11 and February 17, so in each case a large share of that year's January and February babies belong to the Horse.
How old are people born in 1991, and when is their next Goat year?
People born in 1991 turn 36 in 2027, and 2027 is a Goat year. It begins on February 6, 2027 and ends on January 25, 2028. For the Goats of 1991 it is the third return of their sign, after 2003 and 2015.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief counts it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and the custom that goes with it is wearing red. What the year is and how it is celebrated is on our Year of the Goat 2027 page.
The Horses of early 1991 are in their own year already: the current Year of the Horse ends on February 5, 2027.
The years on either side
- 1990 was a Metal Horse year: January 27, 1990 to February 14, 1991.
- 1992 was a Water Monkey year: February 4, 1992 to January 22, 1993. See 1992 in the Chinese zodiac.