UK birthdays: September 27 is the most common day to be born, new ONS analysis shows

The latest analysis of births in England and Wales by the Office for National Statistics shows that September 27 is the most common day to be born in the United Kingdom. On average, about 1,939 babies are born on that date each year, based on births from 1995 through 2024. The four most common birthdays in the year fall in late September, with September 27, September 26, September 25 and September 23 each appearing high on the list. The clustering of birthdays around late September reflects patterns in conceptions occurring in the weeks around Christmas.

Boxing Day stands as the least common birthday, followed by Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, underscoring a holiday effect on birth timing. Boxing Day on December 26 averages about 1,302 births annually, while Christmas Day averages around 1,370 and New Year’s Day about 1,536. The profile of common and rare birthdays is drawn from averaging England and Wales births over a multi-decade window and includes February 29, which appears as one of the 366 possible dates.

Between 1995 and 2023, there were 19,051,773 live births in England and Wales, with annual totals ranging from a low of 591,072 in 2023 to a high of 729,674 in 2012. There was a slight uptick in births in 2024, with 3,605 more arrivals than in 2023. The persistence of September birthdays at the top of the list and Christmas-period birthdays among the least common is thought to reflect seasonal patterns in conceptions and holiday-related scheduling in hospitals and births.

Analysts point to several factors that may explain why September birthdays are so common. One widely cited theory is that couples aim to have children who are the oldest in their school year, which tends to favor births occurring in late September. Others suggest that Christmas holidays may influence conception timing. The ONS has noted that the holiday period can affect delivery timing because many bank holidays reduce hospital activity, and elective or induced births may be scheduled for other dates to accommodate holiday staffing and bed availability. "This is likely due to the large number of bank holidays over the period. Hospitals will generally only be delivering natural births and carrying out emergency caesareans over the holidays. Induced births and elective caesareans are likely to be scheduled on alternative dates," the ONS said.

For readers curious about where their own birthday ranks, Daily Mail published an interactive tool that analyzes the official statistics to show how any given date stacks up against the rest of the year. The analysis draws on the ONS data and the broader pattern of births across 366 possible days, including February 29.