Knowing your due date means knowing much more than when you can expect your little one to arrive. It will determine anything and everything from the logistics around your labor and delivery to the time of year your child will celebrate their birthday.
Curious to know if your kid on the way will be celebrating during the most common birthday month along with plenty of classmates? Or maybe they'll be born on the least common day of the year for babies to make their big entrance into the world? Here's the scoop on the most common birthdays in the U.S.
Why You Shouldn't Focus on Your Due Date
What the Data Says About the Most Common Birthdays
According to real birth data (covering 20 years of American births) gathered by FiveThirtyEight from the National Center for Health Statistics and Social Security Administration, September is the most popular month to give birth to a child in the U.S. In fact, nine of the top 10 days to give birth fall between September 9 and September 20.
"If you back up 38 weeks, that means many couples are conceiving in December and around the holidays," explains Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP, author of The New Baby Blueprint: Caring for You and Your Little One. "It makes sense that they may be more likely to conceive during more celebratory seasons."
Another reason, Dr. Casares points out: According to a study in Obstetrics and Gynecology, couples may have more luck conceiving during the winter season due to higher-quality sperm in winter versus summer months. "They also postulated that changes in daylight length might make an ovum’s environment better-suited for a sperm," she notes. "More research is needed to understand this interesting phenomenon.
Your Chances of Getting Pregnant, During Every Phase of Your Cycle
September 9, the most common birthday in the U.S., is shared by comedian Adam Sandler, actor Hugh Grant, jazz singer Michael Bublé, Russian literary giant Leo Tolstoy, and Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC. September 19 is the second most common birthday, followed by September 12, September 17, September 10, and the first non-September date in the mix: July 7.
Top 10 Most Common Birthdays
Rank
Date
U.S. Average Daily Births
1st
September 9 (9/9)
12,301
2nd
September 19 (9/19)
12,229
3rd
September 12 (9/12)
12,224
4th
September 17 (9/17)
12,148
5th
September 10(9/10)
12,143
6th
July 7 (7/7)
12,108
7th
September 20 (9/20)
12,107
8th
September 15 (9/15)
12,087
9th
September 16 (9/16)
12,072
10th
September 18 (9/18)
12,055
The Least Common Birthdays
The least common birthdays in the U.S. interestingly all hover around major holidays. December 25 (Christmas Day) is the least common birthday, while January 1 (New Year's Day) is the second least common. December 24 (Christmas Eve) also makes the list as the 3rd least common birthday while July 4 (Independence Day) is the 4th least common birthday.
Several of the least common birthdays also hover around Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November), which can fall anywhere between November 22 and November 28. The 10th least common birthday is October 31 (Halloween).
Top 10 Least Common Birthdays
Rank
Date
U.S. Average Daily Births
366th
December 25 (12/25)
6,574
365th
January 1 (1/1)
7,792
364th
December 24 (12/24)
8,069
363rd
July 4 (7/4)
8,796
362nd
January 2 (1/2)
9,307
361st
December 26 (12/26)
9,543
360th
November 27 (11/27)
9,718
359th
November 23 (11/23)
9,883
358th
November 25 (11/25)
9,954
357th
October 31 (10/31)
9,978
The Bottom Line
So if you happen to be expecting around the holidays, your child likely won't have all that much competition for celebration growing up. But if you happened to conceive during the holidays, get ready for an avalanche of cupcakes and many performances of the "Birthday Song" come September.
Parents uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
9 out of 10 of the most common birthdays are in September. However, August is the most commmon birth month, with an average of 361,709 August babies each year in the United States. February is the least common birth month, with avereage of 316,891 babies born in February annually.
9 out of 10 of the most common birthdays are in September. However, August is the most commmon birth month, with an average of 361,709 August babies each year in the United States. February is the least common birth month, with avereage of 316,891 babies born in February annually.
July through October tends to be the most popular birth months in the United States. August is, overall, the most popular month for birthdays, which makes sense. A late August birthday means December conception.
The only non-September birthday in the top 10 is July 7 th—possibly because that's when folks who were holding out until after July 4 th end up scheduling inductions or c-sections.
What is the rarest birth month? According to data collected by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), February is the most uncommon month to be born.
First, a look at the science – is there really a "best" month to get pregnant? The short answer is no, there's no "best" time to get pregnant. But the most popular time to conceive a baby in the U.S. is November 25 to December 2, per one study published in Human ReproductionOpens a new window.
This day is often referred to as "the empty day" or "nobody's birthday." Despite extensive scientific study, there is no known explanation for this phenomenon.
That's right: More babies are born every day in September than in any other month of the year. So why is September the most common birth month? Turns out it has a lot to do with 9 months before that, in December — the month where couples are most likely to conceive.
February 29th: February 29th (Leap Day during Leap Year) is the rarest birthday with only a one in roughly 1,460 chance of being born on this date. February is one of the least popular months for new births. The second rarest birthday is Christmas Eve, December 24th.
Your golden birthday is the year you turn the same age as your birthday – for example, turning 25 on the 25th, or 31 on the 31st. If you've ever wondered where the tradition comes from, you're not alone. Joan Bramsch, a midwestern author, started celebrating her five children's golden birthdays in the 1950s.
3. Here are some of the notable people celebrating birthdays today, including Amal Clooney, Blythe Danner, Daddy Yankee, Isla Fisher, Maura Tierney, Morgan Fairchild, Nathan Lane and more.
The rarest month to be born in is February, making Aquarius the rarest zodiac sign. February is the shortest month of the year, even with a leap year. Conception would have happened the previous May. The weather is warmer, days are longer, fewer babies tend to be conceived.
Global medical surveys also find that October babies tend to live longer than those born in other months — the Journal of Aging Research has found that people born in the fall (September through November), have a greater chance of living to see the 100-year mark. October birthdays also bring strong mental health.
See why October is the most successful birth month and which ones are close behind. It's no surprise that expecting parents like to imagine every possible detail—every what-if—of their baby-to-be.
There is one day in history where no one has ever been born, and that is February 3rd [1]. This day is often referred to as "the empty day" or "nobody's birthday." Despite extensive scientific study, there is no known explanation for this phenomenon.
Only two April birthdates made their way into the top 200 most popular birthdays (April 4th at 144th and April 11th at 189th), while 11 landed below 300. The least popular April birthday? The first (maybe because not too many moms and dads are keen on scheduling an induction or c-section on April Fool's Day!).
Always your 28th birthday (and multiples) as, barring century years other than 2000, that's an exact multiple of 7 years including 7 leap years. Otherwise, your birthday repeats the day you were born on after either: 5 years including two leap days.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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