What was the most common birthday in England & Wales in 2016?

Name: England and Wales births by day, 2016
Creator: Office for National Statistics
Published: 2026-09-15

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

September 22most births in 2016a Thursday, 2,202 births
December 26fewest births in 2016a Monday, 1,360 births
Septemberbusiest month per day2,005 births per day
84%weekend levelSaturday and Sunday against a weekday, per day; Thursday busiest

In 2016, England and Wales recorded 696,271 births over 366 days, 1,902 on an average day. The busiest single date was September 22, a Thursday, with 2,202 births; the quietest was December 26, a Monday, with 1,360. September was the busiest month per day and Thursday the busiest weekday; a Saturday or Sunday recorded about 84% 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 2016 in England & Wales: recorded births

Every day of 2016 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 2016

Dates of 2016 with the most recorded births in England & Wales
Date	Weekday	Births	% of an average day
September 22	Thursday	2,202	115.7
September 23	Friday	2,200	115.6
July 7	Thursday	2,197	115.5
September 15	Thursday	2,175	114.3
September 20	Tuesday	2,166	113.9
July 6	Wednesday	2,160	113.5
September 9	Friday	2,156	113.3
July 12	Tuesday	2,154	113.2
October 6	Thursday	2,154	113.2
July 14	Thursday	2,153	113.2

The quietest dates of 2016

Dates of 2016 with the fewest recorded births in England & Wales
Date	Weekday	Births	% of an average day
December 26	Monday	1,360	71.5
December 25	Sunday	1,391	73.1
December 27	Tuesday	1,447	76.1
March 27	Sunday	1,545	81.2
December 4	Sunday	1,555	81.7
March 28	Monday	1,569	82.5
January 3	Sunday	1,570	82.5
December 11	Sunday	1,572	82.6
November 27	Sunday	1,572	82.6
April 10	Sunday	1,581	83.1
January 17	Sunday	1,581	83.1

11 dates are listed because the tenth total is shared.

2016 by weekday and by month

England & Wales, 2016: births per day by weekday

Seven columns, Monday to Sunday, average recorded births per day in 2016.

England & Wales, 2016: births per day by weekday
Weekday	Days	Births per day
Thursday	52	2,049
Friday	53	2,018
Wednesday	52	1,997
Tuesday	52	1,990
Monday	52	1,916
Saturday	53	1,707
Sunday	52	1,642

England & Wales, 2016: births per day by month
Month	Births	Births per day
September	60,152	2,005
July	61,300	1,977
June	58,701	1,957
May	59,327	1,914
August	59,118	1,907
October	58,862	1,899
February	54,932	1,894
April	56,663	1,889
November	55,985	1,866
March	57,583	1,858
January	57,188	1,845
December	56,460	1,821

Keep going

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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. 696,271 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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