What was the most common birthday in England & Wales in 1996?

Name: England and Wales births by day, 1996
Creator: Office for National Statistics
Published: 2026-09-15

Published by Birthday Traffic · September 15, 2026 · Sources and method

July 23most births in 1996a Tuesday, 2,135 births
December 26fewest births in 1996a Thursday, 1,296 births
Septemberbusiest month per day1,880 births per day
83%weekend levelSaturday and Sunday against a weekday, per day; Thursday busiest

In 1996, England and Wales recorded 649,485 births over 366 days, 1,775 on an average day. The busiest single date was July 23, a Tuesday, with 2,135 births; the quietest was December 26, a Thursday, with 1,296. September was the busiest month per day and Thursday the busiest weekday; a Saturday or Sunday recorded about 83% of a weekday’s births. Within one year each date has one weekday, so every table here names it. The multi-year ranking for England & Wales is on its own page.

Every day of 1996 in England & Wales: recorded births

Every day of 1996 in calendar order as one line, with the busiest and quietest dates marked and the year’s average day drawn across it.

The regular dips are weekends. The deepest dips are fixed holidays.

The busiest dates of 1996

Dates of 1996 with the most recorded births in England & Wales
Date	Weekday	Births	% of an average day
July 23	Tuesday	2,135	120.3
September 26	Thursday	2,108	118.8
September 27	Friday	2,098	118.2
September 18	Wednesday	2,073	116.8
September 20	Friday	2,066	116.4
December 19	Thursday	2,060	116.1
September 24	Tuesday	2,057	115.9
October 1	Tuesday	2,057	115.9
August 6	Tuesday	2,044	115.2
September 25	Wednesday	2,040	115.0

The quietest dates of 1996

Dates of 1996 with the fewest recorded births in England & Wales
Date	Weekday	Births	% of an average day
December 26	Thursday	1,296	73.0
August 25	Sunday	1,340	75.5
December 8	Sunday	1,361	76.7
December 25	Wednesday	1,366	77.0
April 7	Sunday	1,367	77.0
April 28	Sunday	1,381	77.8
March 31	Sunday	1,387	78.2
April 8	Monday	1,397	78.7
January 21	Sunday	1,400	78.9
April 21	Sunday	1,401	78.9

1996 by weekday and by month

England & Wales, 1996: births per day by weekday

Seven columns, Monday to Sunday, average recorded births per day in 1996.

England & Wales, 1996: births per day by weekday
Weekday	Days	Births per day
Thursday	52	1,898
Friday	52	1,898
Wednesday	52	1,877
Tuesday	53	1,876
Monday	53	1,765
Saturday	52	1,625
Sunday	52	1,480

England & Wales, 1996: births per day by month
Month	Births	Births per day
September	56,387	1,880
July	57,606	1,858
October	56,221	1,814
August	55,956	1,805
November	53,752	1,792
June	53,745	1,792
December	54,199	1,748
February	50,388	1,738
May	53,843	1,737
January	53,523	1,727
March	53,370	1,722
April	50,495	1,683

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Sources, method and limits

Source: Office for National Statistics, daily live births by date of occurrence, Table 12 of the births release of September 8, 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0. Births occurring in England and Wales, including to mothers resident elsewhere, as registered by the release date. 649,485 births over 366 days; the weekday of each day is taken from the calendar date. One year, one country, one series.

Every figure above comes from the administrative records named here, at the granularity those records publish: a day, a month or a year. Coverage and definitions differ between countries and eras, so two sources are combined only where their documentation states the windows are separate, and the page where that happens says so.

Full method, leap-day treatment and definitions.

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