Some birthdays are a lot more common than others. That might be a strange thing to come to terms with, seeing as there are 365 (and sometimes 366) days in a year - surely there’s a fairly equal distribution all the way through? Not quite!
Indeed, some people have never even met someone who has the same birthday as them! That can make their birthday all the more special; it’s a day that’s entirely theirs!
If you’re awaiting the birth of a baby of your own and you’re curious about the ranking, we’ve looked into the official statistics for the most common birthday in the UK. Hey, even if you’re curious about your own birthday, this is the list you need to get into!
Check out the top ten most common birthdays we expect to see in the UK in 2024. Whilst you’re going through the list, you might start seeing a trend!
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October 2nd
Number 10 on our list, on average October 2nd sees 1934 babies being born every year. 2024 is set to be no different but we’ll have to wait and see!
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September 18th
Next up is September 18th, which on average has seen 1943 babies born every year since 1995.
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September 19th
At the 8th position in our ranking and only a day after the date in 9th place, September 19th has around 1946 births a day per year.
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September 23rd
For number 7 on the list we come to September 23rd, which has an average birth number of 1949 each year.
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October 1st
Finally, a buck in the trend and we’re back to October! However, it won’t last long. At number six in the ranking, October 1st sees around 1951 births a day, and we expect to see a similar amount in 2024.
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September 30th
And back to late September! The last day of the month usually sees about 1952 - only one more than the date ranking in 6th.
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September 27th
Just missing out on the top three, September 27th ranks 4th with an average of 1957 births each year.
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September 24th
Into the top three we go! September 24th gets around 1958 births - again, only one more birth per year than position four.
And seeing as there’s only a day separating the top three spots, it’s clear this is a very busy time of year for any and all Obstetrics and Gynaecology departments around the country.
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September 25th
The second most common birthdate in the UK, September 25th has seen around 1965 births every year for the past 20 years.
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September 26th
Officially the most common day to be born in the UK! September 26th has an average birth number of 1974.
So, September: the most common birth month?
In the past 20 years, September has seen more births than other months of the year. The most common day to be born in September sees nearly 100 more births than the most common day to be born in December. Similarly, September sees around 2280 more births than December in total.
It's interesting to see the numbers skew this way so strongly, but what’s causing it exactly? Based on the time of year, it could be down to a couple of factors.
Namely, the amount of time people get to themselves 9 months before a September birthdate, and also the time of year September itself reflects.
When you think about it, Christmas is the only significant time people get time off from work! Similarly, for couples who are family planning, conceiving in time for a September birth means you can get your child off to school by age 4. This is common in the UK, although ‘compulsory school age’ starts the year your child turns 5.
Has the trend always been the same?
You’d have to check the records, but probably not. This trend has probably changed over the last 100 hundred years or so, thanks to the changes in demands and expectations of society.
However, a high number of September births and a low number of December, January, and February births seems to be the trend that’s sticking around for now.
Where did we get these numbers from?
All of the data in this list was compiled by the Office of National Statistics and covers a period of around 20 years between 1995 and 2014. If you’d like to find out more about the most common birth dates in the UK, check out their website.