It's clearer to use the original term and meaning: Anno Domini is "in the year of our Lord", and follows the same year numbering system that has been followed b

It's clearer to use the original term and meaning: Anno Domini is "in the year of our Lord", and follows the same year numbering system that has been followed by various kings in history (even Japan still does for their Emperors). The birth of Jesus Christ signified his reign on earth, and that's when AD 1 happened. It's estimated he lived about 33 years until being killed on the cross, but since our current numbering is based on a 16th-centry estimate of how long ago it was, there is room for debate about Jesus's birth being shifted around a few years. Instead of changing our year numbers ("We've decided that 2024 is actually 2030..."), we instead talk about "maybe Jesus was born in 6 BC"