Aim The purpose of the present study was to investigate if performance in a 30‐s verbal semantic fluency task (i.e. animal naming) across five elderly aged groups (60–64; 65–69; 70–74; 75–79; 80–84 years) would be reflective of aging effect. Methods We analyzed differences in performance across 5‐s phases and the moment of first word production in these five age groups. Results The following results were obtained: (i) with increasing age, the total number of words produced gradually declined (P < 0.001); (ii) there were significant differences in performance among the age groups in three phases (0–5, 6–10, 16–20 s) (P < 0.05); and (iii) the first word production within the first 5‐s phase was significantly delayed in the 75–79 years and 80–84 years age groups compared with the rest of the age groups. Conclusions Performance in the initial 5‐s phase might be sensitive to cognitive degeneration in normal older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; ●●: ●●–●●.