What is the rarest birthday?
February 29 is a special case. It appears only in leap years, so its total includes fewer calendar occurrences than an annually recurring date. That is why this page also shows the rarest birthday that occurs every year.
The 10 rarest birthdays in the historical U.S. data
The list is ordered by total recorded births for each month-and-day combination. Rank #1 is the rarest calendar date in this 1994–2014 source series.
February 29
52,561 recorded births, representing about 0.061% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
Leap Day appears only in leap years. There were five February 29 dates in the 1994–2014 source period, so it is a special calendar case as well as the lowest total in the ranking.
December 25
138,628 recorded births, representing about 0.162% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
Christmas Day has the lowest recorded total among dates that occur every year in this dataset.
January 1
164,362 recorded births, representing about 0.192% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
New Year’s Day is one of the quietest recurring dates in the historical records.
December 24
170,166 recorded births, representing about 0.199% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
Christmas Eve sits inside a noticeably quiet year-end stretch in the historical records.
July 4
185,315 recorded births, representing about 0.216% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
July 4 stands out as a quieter date than the surrounding summer dates in the U.S. records.
January 2
196,481 recorded births, representing about 0.229% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
This date has one of the lowest recorded birth totals in the 1994–2014 U.S. source series.
December 26
201,577 recorded births, representing about 0.235% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
December 26 remains part of the quieter year-end holiday period.
November 27
205,164 recorded births, representing about 0.239% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
This date has one of the lowest recorded birth totals in the 1994–2014 U.S. source series.
November 23
208,301 recorded births, representing about 0.243% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
This date has one of the lowest recorded birth totals in the 1994–2014 U.S. source series.
November 25
210,021 recorded births, representing about 0.245% of the 85,712,738 births in the source series.
This date has one of the lowest recorded birth totals in the 1994–2014 U.S. source series.
Why do holidays appear near the rare end?
The historical records show unusually low totals on several major U.S. holidays and the dates around them. Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Christmas Eve, July 4, and December 26 all appear near the rare end of this dataset.
One likely reason is that planned deliveries and some medical procedures can be scheduled away from major holidays. The ranking itself does not assume a holiday adjustment. It simply reflects the birth counts recorded in the source data.
What does a rare birthday actually mean?
A rare rank is relative. It means fewer births were recorded on that month and day than on most other dates in this historical U.S. series. It does not mean only a small number of people share the birthday today, and it does not say anything about a person’s individuality.
At the opposite end, September 9 has the highest total in the same data. The most common birthdays page shows the full busy end of the ranking.
Rarest birthday questions
What is the rarest birthday?
February 29 has the lowest total in the 1994–2014 historical U.S. records used by this site, with 52,561 recorded births.
What is the rarest birthday that happens every year?
Excluding February 29, December 25 has the lowest recorded total in this dataset.
Does my birth year change my rarity score?
No. The rarity ranking is based on your month and day. Your year is used to validate the date and add calendar details such as the weekday you were born.
Is this a worldwide birthday ranking?
No. It is based on historical U.S. records from 1994–2014. Birthday patterns can differ by place and time, so the site labels the source period clearly.