| 100% | ONINE | 5 | First year of Obama's presidency, slangily |
| 51% | DCCI | 4 | First year of John VI's papacy |
| 49% | YEARZERO | 8 | First year of the Khmer Rouge's rule in Cambodia |
| 46% | EMANUEL | 7 | Obama's first chief of staff |
| 46% | DII | 3 | First year of the Liang dynasty |
| 46% | ONEAD | 5 | First year of the Common Era |
| 46% | MDI | 3 | First year of the XVIth century |
| 45% | EBONY | 5 | Magazine that named Barack Obama its first-ever Person of the Year (2009) |
| 45% | FRESHMAN | 8 | First year of high school or college |
| 44% | GRETA | 5 | First name of ''Time'''s 2019 Person of the Year |
| 44% | ELON | 4 | First name of Time's 2021 Person of the Year |
| 43% | ONEAD | 5 | The first year of the Common Era |
| 43% | NINETEENSEVENTY | 15 | Year of first Earth Day |
| 43% | AULD | 4 | First word of a traditional New Year's Eve song |
| 43% | EZRA | 4 | It begins "In the first year of Cyrus..." |
| 42% | INTERN | 6 | Doctor in first year of training in a hospital |
| 42% | MCM | 3 | Year of the first Davis Cup matches |
| 41% | ORR | 3 | First hockey player to win Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year |
| 41% | MYANMARCHINA | 12 | First month of the year without a U.S. federal holiday [Asia] |
| 41% | MCMIII | 6 | Year of the 21-Acrosses' first 25-Across |
| 41% | MDXI | 4 | Year of the first Spanish settlement in Cuba |
| 40% | EZRA | 4 | It begins "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia..." |
| 40% | RAHM | 4 | __ Emanuel, Obama's first Chief of Staff |
| 40% | JANUARY | 7 | First month of the year |
| 40% | EZRA | 4 | It begins "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia ..." |
| 39% | MIDTERMS | 8 | US elections held after two years of presidency |
| 39% | BARACK | 6 | First name of former President Obama |
| 39% | JAN | 3 | First month of the year: Abbr. |
| 39% | EZRA | 4 | Book that begins "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia ..." |
| 39% | WOODS | 5 | Sports Illustrated's first two-time Sportsman of the Year, 1996 and 2000 |