Best 50th Birthday Quotes for Your Loved One

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published November 25, 2022

These 40th birthday quotes can help you celebrate with family and friends.

Turning 40 is a milestone many don’t look forward to celebrating.

Most people view being 40 as the start of entering the “middle age” phase of life.

Tell us your favorite 40th birthday quote in the comment section below.

What are the benefits of reading these 40th-birthday quotes?

Many jokes come along about how your body falls apart with aches and pains when you hit 40.

But the 40th birthday is something that should be celebrated.

The viewpoint of being 40 has shifted.

Many advantages come with being middle age that can and should be enjoyed.

Many people learn how to be themselves when they reach this milestone birthday.

This middle-age phase of life can bring:

more wisdom
less worrying
confidence to deal with challenges

This is a reason to mark this major milestone birthday in your life and help friends and family members do the same.

The following 40th birthday quotes can help you laugh, reminisce, get inspired, and celebrate the big day.

Related: Happy Birthday Quotes

Some of the best 40th birthday quotes

These quotes will help you realize that age is just a number.

1. “Life begins at forty.” — W.B. Pitkin

2. “Guys are idiots, till they’re what, 40 years old.” — Wes Borland

3. “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.” — Chili Davis

4. “Be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed.” — Edward Young

5. “Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle.” — Bob Hope

6. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E. E. Cummings

7. “Middle age is when your age begins to show around your middle.” — Bob Hope

8. “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” — Henry David Thoreau

9. “The best ten years of a woman’s life are the ten years between 39 and 40.” — Anon

10. “At 20 years of age, the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgment.” — Benjamin Franklin

You will also enjoy our article on funny birthday quotes.

Encouraging 40th birthday quotes

The birthday quotes show that with age comes wisdom.

11. “As soon as you feel too old to do a thing, do it.” — Margaret Deland

12. “Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” — Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

13. “You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime.” — John Grier

14. “At a certain age, we learned to see right through it, and that age is now.” — Anna Quindlen

15. “The really frightening thing about middle age is that you know you’ll grow out of it.” — Doris Day

16. “Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

17. “Middle school is for being like everyone else; middle age is for being like yourself.” — Victoria Moran

18. “The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” — Madeleine L’Engle

19. “Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty eight and forty.” — James Thurber

20. “Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” — Larry Lorenzoni

You will also enjoy our article on birthday quotes.

40th birthday quotes to help you celebrate

These quotes can help change your perspective about turning 40.

21. “Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” — Franz Kafka

22. “You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C. S. Lewis

23. “If you’re 40 years old and you’ve never had a failure, you’ve been deprived.” — Gloria Swanson

24. “We don’t understand life any better at forty than at twenty, but we know it and admit it.” — Jules Renard

25. “Middle age is when a guy keeps turning off lights for economical rather than romantic reasons.” — Eli Cass

26. “Getting older is fine. There is nothing you can do to stop it, so you might as well stay on the bus.” — John Byrne

27. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” — George Bernard Shaw

28. “As I started getting older, I realized, ‘I’m so happy!’ I didn’t expect this! I wasn’t happy when I was young.” — Jane Fonda

29. “One of the many things nobody ever tells you about middle age is that it’s such a nice change from being young.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher

30. “Age has given me what I was looking for my entire life—it has given me me… I have the life I longed for. I have become the woman I hardly dared imagine I would be.” — Anne Lamott

You will also enjoy our article on getting older quotes.

Step into a new decade with confidence from these birthday quotes.

31. “We don’t understand life any better at forty than at twenty, but we know it and admit it.” — Jules Renard

32. “When I passed forty, I dropped pretense, ‘cause men like women who got some sense.” — Maya Angelou

33. “The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

34. “At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don’t care what they think of us….” — Ann Landers

35. “I can honestly say I love getting older. Then again, I never put my glasses on before looking in the mirror.” — Cherie Lunghi

36. “Middle age is when you’re sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn’t for you.” — Ogden Nash

37. “The great thing about getting older is that you get a chance to tell the people in your life who matter what they mean to you.” — Mike Love

38. “One of the many things nobody ever tells you about middle age is that it’s such a nice change from being young.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher

39. “You’ll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to live life on your terms, and never, ever apologize for it.” — Mandy Hale

40. “You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.” — Frank Crane

40th birthday quotes with an element of fun

These quotes will make you laugh and help you celebrate family and friends’ birthday.

41. “Every year of life is a gift, even 40.” — Unknown

42. “Aging can be fun if you lay back and enjoy it.” — Unknown

43. “At 40, your idea of weight lifting is standing up.” — Unknown

44. “Happy 40th birthday! How does it feel to be the world’s oldest kid?” — Unknown

45. “Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not here, so live today and enjoy the year.” — Unknown

46. “Middle age is having a choice between two temptations and choosing the one that’ll get you home earlier.” — Dan Bennett

47. “Let the party begin! Happy 40th to one of the great ones. You fill our lives with happiness, and we wish you all the best.” — Unknown

48. “Happy, happy, happy 40th birthday to the most amazing person I know! May your day be filled with laughter, warmth, and so much love.” — Unknown

49. “Being 40 is the best. You have the energy and the money to do whatever you want. Buy the toy, take the ride! Let’s celebrate your 40th!” — Unknown

50. “Here’s to another 40 years! I have really treasured our friendship all these years. I hope you have a fun birthday with spectacular memories that last a lifetime.” — Unknown