When it comes to birthdays, the 21st is an important one. Because we all know that someone else has probably said it best first, you can help that special person celebrate with these happy 21st birthday quotes. Whether it’s your own birthday, a family member or a friend’s, these quotes about turning 21 can help, especially if you’re at loss for words.
Scroll through to find the best quote.
Our Favorite Happy 21st Birthday Quotes
“Live as long as you may. The first twenty years are the longest half of your life.” – Robert Southey
“One fun thing on your 21st birthday is getting carded. It’s even more fun on your 30th.” ― Melanie White
“The older you get the better you get, unless you are a banana.” — Betty White
“21 is a terrific age, maybe the best. Too bad you can’t be that old for the rest of your life.” ― Greg Tamblyn
“My life is better with every year of living it.” — Rachel Maddow
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” – Mark Twain
“The best birthdays of all are those that haven’t arrived yet.” — Robert Orben
“Words of wisdom for your 21st birthday: Every day make sure you laugh, learn and love. Every day show respect and help others. Every day believe in yourself and don’t fear failure. Every day just be yourself!” – Catherine Pulsifer
“All the world is a birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.” — George Harrison
“There is still no cure for the common birthday.” — John Glenn
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain
“Why is a birthday cake the only food you can blow on and spit on and everybody rushes to get a piece?” — Bobby Kelton
“Put candles in a cake, it’s a birthday cake. Put candles in a pie, and somebody’s drunk in the kitchen.” — Jim Gaffigan
“A birthday is like a new year and my wish for you, is a great year full of happiness and sunshine!” — Catherine Pulsifer
“By my 21st birthday, I was still straight-edge. I didn`t develop at all emotionally until I started drinking, smoking, and snorting things a while later, and even then it took a few more years before my self-awareness became useful for anything.” ― Tony Tulathimutte
“You may be turning 21, but in my eyes, I can still remember the day you were born. It was an amazing day, and may God continue to bless you over the next 21 years.” ― Kate Summers
“At 21 my best advice to you are the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Live well, learn plenty, laugh often and love much.” Kate Summers
“I like birthday cake. It’s so symbolic. It’s a tempting symbol to load with something more complicated than just ‘Happy birthday!’ because it’s this emblem of childhood and a happy day.” — Aimee Bender
“Your birthday is the beginning of your own personal new year. Your first birthday was a beginning, and each new birthday is a chance to begin again, to start over, to take a new grip on life.” — Wilfred Peterson
“If life is a birthday cake let my face be smeared with its icing of cognac and kindness.” – Aberjhani
“Words of encouragement for your 21st birthday: Never stop believing in yourself. When others doubt, don’t you. Do what you love to do, No one knows better than you.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“Long-expected one and twenty Ling’ring year, at last, has flown, Pomp and pleasure, pride and plenty Great Sir John, are all your own.’ ― Samuel Johnson
“Started from the bottom, now I’m here — 20, that is.” — Inspired by Drake, “Started From The Bottom”
“This is for them twenty somethings. Time really moves fast, you were just sixteen.” — Beyonce,
“Every year on your birthday, you get a chance to start new.” — Sammy Hagar
“That’s me, Ms. 20 Something.” — SZA, “20 Something”
“That’s the funny thing about birthdays, they’re kind of an annual thing.” – Rapunzel
“There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents, you know.” — Lewis Carroll
“Why is a birthday cake the only food you can blow on and spit on and everybody rushes to get a piece?” – Bobby Kelton
“I’m pushing 20, got no time for others.” — Sabrina Carpenter, “Pushing 20”
“Cakes are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends with something sweet, a cake, and people remember. It’s all about the memories.” — Buddy Valastro
“At 21 years old, I could produce 400 people like that.” ― Eddie Perez
“Don’t be intimidated by my outfit; it’s Forever 21.” ― Natasha Leggero
“Being 21 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. You have to start buying your own toilet paper.” ― Melanie White
“My 21st birthday wasn`t a big deal. I just went out with a few friends that night. I think I made it up for until I turned 22.” ― Shane Gonzales
“I sold my first script when I was 21 – this kids’ adventure movie that never got made. I just bought that one back, actually. I’m pretty psyched about it.” ― Jason Segel
“Now that you’re 21, it’s time to stop playing video games and start designing them.” ― Melanie White
“Everything felt high-stakes and important, and every decision felt monumental. And yet, here I am 20 years later, and I literally have no memory of my 21st birthday.” ― Emily McDowell
“In the USA, at age 18, you can go into a voting booth and cast a vote to help decide who will be empowered to launch a nuclear bomb. However, you still cannot, in most states, walk into a bar and order a shot until you turn 21.” ― Ronnie Sellers
If you like these, you might also want to check out our other lists of Happy Birthday Quotes and Happy 30th, 40th and 50th Birthday Quotes.
Funny 21st Birthday Quotes
“The way I see it, you should live every day like it’s your birthday.” — Paris Hilton
“Live as long as you may. The first twenty years are the longest half of your life.” ― Robert Southey
“Now that you’re 21, nobody can tell you want to do unless of course, you’re married.” ― Melanie White
“At 21 your life is just beginning but cherish each day as the next 21 years will fly by before you realize they are gone.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“On the roller coaster of life, your 21st birthday is like being at the top of the first giant hill with your hands in the air and no lap bar.” ― Greg Tamblyn
“At 16 you can drive. At 21 you can have a cold one. Do both at the same time and your present might not have a future.” ― Greg Tamblyn
“When a man is tired of life on his 21st birthday, it indicates that he is rather tired of something in himself.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty, but it’s up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” ― Coco Chanel
“I intend to live forever. So far, so good.” — Steven Wright
“Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” — Larry Lorenzoni
“The party is on my birthday, June 21 – my 21st on the 21st, which is Midsummer’s Day, the longest day of the year and the longest night for a lot of people who are helping to organize it.” ― Prince William
Short Quotes About Turning 21 Years Old
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” — John Lennon
“You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.” — John Mason
“Turning 21 is a special day may your future bring all that you wish for.” – Kate Summers
“At twenty years of age, the will reign; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment.” ― Benjamin Franklin
“You don’t get older, you get better.” — Shirley Bassey
“Birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake.” — Edward Morykwas
“At twenty-one, so many things appear solid, permanent, untenable.” ― Orson Welles
“You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.” — Ogden Nash
“My advice for a 21-year-old: Don’t drink and vote.” ― Melanie White
“Don’t just count your years, make your years count.” — George Meredith
Funny 21st Birthday Sayings
“At 21, you can have it all―all the bills, problems, and responsibilities of an adult.”
“Be careful what you wish for… My parents wished for me 21 years ago and look where that ended up.”
“Twenty-one is the same as teen years, but with legality.”
“After today, I’m celebrating my birthday in dog years.”
“Everybody wants to be twenty-one, Full of life and life full of fun.”
“Finally 21 and legally able to do everything I’ve been doing since 16.”
“O.K., you know that what happens at the 21st B-Day, stays at the 21st B-Day.”
“Your 21st Birthday comes along with great responsibility. You’re responsible for not getting too drunk.”
“Twenty-one is a super important milestone birthday event. It means you have less than 80 years to hit 100.”
21st Birthday Wishes
“Happy Birthday! For your special day I made you a cake. BOOM YOU’RE A CAKE! You’re so very welcome.”
“A birthday cake for you I did not make, but my wish for you is absolutely not fake. I wish you a 21st year filled with laughter and love and tons of good cheer! Happy birthday!”
“Here’s to many more rotations around the sun. May you live to be old and toothless – Jell-O is the caviar of the future! Happy Birthday.”
“Everyone gets to be young once. Today it’s official, your turn is over. Happy 21st birthday!”
“Happy 21st! Time to start adulting.”
“Older? Definitely. Wiser? …mmm debatable. Happy 21st Birthday!”
“Pst, don’t grow up! It’s a trap. Happy birthday!”
“What will 21 bring? No one knows what the future holds, but there’s something I know; I know this thing. I’ll be right by your side, whatever tomorrow unfolds.”
“Since it’s your birthday, I’ll tell you now you’re a real catch. Fishing you a reel-y happy birthday!”
“I spent 3 hours searching the internet for the perfect birthday message for you and then I gave up. Happy 21st Birthday.”
“Forget about the past you can’t change, the future you can’t predict, and definitely forget about the present because I didn’t get you one. Happy birthday!”
21st Birthday Captions
On this day, 21 years ago, a queen was born.
Twenty one tastes as sweet as my cake.
May your 21st birthday be as flawless as you.
Cheers to good friends, good vibes, and another 21 years.
21 – Time to make some pour decisions.
Life is too short to be lived counting the years, Just enjoy the ride and make awesome memories.
You’ll soon find out that being an adult is much less exciting than being a child, But shhhh don’t tell anyone, That’s our secret.
My 21st birthday is the start of so many exciting adventures.
I’m 21 now but age gives no guarantee on maturity.
Can’t wait to tell our kids one day about how awesome and hot we were at 21.
Say hello to the world’s latest 21 year old.
The thing is I love birthday celebrations, but only when they’re mine.
I’m just here for the birthday cake.
Helping this one ring in 21. Cheers to another lap around the sun!
21 – time to make some pour decisions.
Age is a high price to pay for maturity.
Well look who just turned 21…
21 is so fun I think I’ll repeat it again next year.
Agent of chaos for 21 years.
It’s time to rhyme because 21 is for fun!
I don’t care how old I’m turning, so long as there’s cake.
Got so distracted by cake, I forgot it was my own birthday. #SoThisIs21
Grateful to have found my people by age 21.
Start of Season 21 with the best co-stars I could have ever asked for.
Wouldn’t want to turn 21 with anyone else by my side.
Start from the bottom now I am 21.
At 21 everything is possible and tomorrow looks friendly.
O.K., you know that what happens at the 21st B-Day, stays at the 21st B-Day.
Of course, I don’t know how to act my age. I’ve never been this age before!
The only things getting LIT today are the candles on my cake!
Can’t believe you’re 21. Here’s to another year of amazing memories.
Cheers to 21 years.
Hello, 21.
Happy birthday to me.
21 years of sass.
Be good to me, 21.
I think 21 looks good on me.
So this is 21.
Level up. #21
Experience level: 21.
My day, my way. #21
Lap 21 around the sun…
21: Wild and free.
It’s my 21st… I’ll wine if I want to.
21 and legal proceed with caution.
Here for cake, and cake only.
Hey Siri, count the candles.
So that’s it for our list! Hopefully, we were able to help you find the best quote or saying you were looking for.
About the Author
Laynni Locke
I am Laynni Locke, a Canadian writer, reader and traveller with a passion for sharing life’s moments on social media. Keeping friends and family in the loop of our lives though photos and videos has become an essential activity for most.
And it doesn’t matter if you are travelling, celebrating a special occasion or just appreciating day-to-day life, when you take that perfect photo you are going to need the perfect caption or quote before you share it. Which is why we started Routinely Shares, providing comprehensive lists of quotes and captions to cover every occasion, adventure or loved one.
With extensive experience as a travel writer, social media specialist and grant writer, I have made it my mission to curate the best and easiest to use lists for your next post.