Born in 1940: the Dragon

Metal Dragon is the full name of the 1940 sign. Its traditional two-part year name is 庚辰 (gēngchén), which puts it at number 17 of 60, and 1940 is a yang year, the cycle's active, outgoing half. Expect the Dragon's usual traits (ambitious, energetic, charismatic) with a determined, disciplined and self-reliant edge from the Metal element.

The 1940 lunar year ran from February 8, 1940 up to the day before Chinese New Year 1941 (January 27, 1941). If you were born on or after February 8, 1940 you are a Dragon; if you were born earlier in 1940, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Rabbit. Someone born in 1940 turns 86 in 2026 (or 85 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 1940's Chinese New Year fell on a Thursday, and that lunar year ran 354 days — an ordinary 12-month lunar year.

What the Metal element adds

Metal is the element of autumn, structure and resolve. A Metal year sharpens focus and independence: a Metal animal knows what it wants and pursues it directly, sometimes at the cost of flexibility.

The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Metal Dragon year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 1940 was 1880, and the next is 2000. People born in it are said to combine ambitious and energetic with the element's determined nature. Every Dragon year is yang (the active, outgoing type). See the Metal element and the full Metal Dragon profile.

1940 at a glance

Animal	🐉 Dragon (龙)
Element	Metal
Yin or yang	yang
Traditional year name	庚辰 (gēngchén)
Place in the 60-year cycle	17 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 8, 1940 to January 26, 1941
Age in 2026	85–86
Traditional best match	Rooster
Traditional hardest match	Dog
Lucky numbers	1, 6, 7
Lucky colors	gold, silver, gray

Dragon compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 1940 Dragon gets on best with the Rooster (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Rat and Monkey. The hardest pairing is the Dog, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Dragon compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 1940 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 1940 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to February 7, 1940	Rabbit (the 1939 year)
February 8, 1940 to December 31, 1940	Dragon
January 1, 1941 to January 26, 1941	Dragon (still the 1940 year)
January 27, 1941 onward	Snake (the 1941 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 1940 Dragon

The next own-sign year for someone born in 1940 is 2036, around age 96, then 2048, around age 108. Tradition calls this your běnmìngnián. Despite being "your" year, it is thought to clash with Tài Suì (the God of Age) and to carry a higher chance of setbacks, so many people wear red through it for protection.

The element pair: 1940 and 1941

Metal years come in pairs. 1940 is the yang year and 1941 is the yin year, the Snake. So a 1940 Dragon and a 1941 Snake share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Dragon and Snake pairing as moderate: it has no special bond or conflict, so how well it goes depends on the two people more than on the calendar. See the Dragon and Snake pairing.

Other Dragon years

1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2024 2036

Full Dragon personality profile →   Dragon compatibility with every sign →

Know your exact birth date? Use the calculator for your full combination →

What a Metal year changes for the Dragon

Talking. What marks a 1940 Dragon in conversation is the Metal element: it gets more guarded about it, saying less than it's actually thinking.

Work. Expect a 1940 Dragon to work with a sharper, less negotiable edge than most, because Metal sharpens and hardens the sign's usual approach. The element affects execution more than the field.

Love. In 1940's Metal version, the Dragon shows affection through direct, no-nonsense gestures, since metal is the element of autumn, structure and resolve.

For the sign as a whole (how the Dragon communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Dragon profile. This page covers what is different about 1940.

Known Dragons

Bruce Lee and John Lennon were born in the 1940 lunar year, exact Metal Dragon matches for this page. Other well-known Dragons, from other years, include Sandra Bullock and Rihanna. A shared sign says nothing about how anyone's life goes; these are simply familiar names to put to the sign.