How rare is a leap day birthday?

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

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• 1 in 1,631U.S. births fell on a leap day52,561 of 85,712,738 recorded births, 1994–2014
• 94index of a leap day in a U.S. leap yearmean over 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012; 100 is an average day
• 3,929people in Denmark born on February 291 resident in 1,534, January 1, 2026
• #162 of 366U.S. rank per occurrence, 2007–2014judged on the years it occurred; #366 by total

This is two questions. How many babies are born on a leap day? About as many as on any other late-February day: in the U.S. leap years 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, February 29 ran at index 101, 105, 64, 99, 101 against each year’s average day, and the one low figure, 64 in 2004, was a Sunday. How rare is it to have a leap day birthday? Rare, because the day comes once in four years: across 85,712,738 recorded U.S. births on 7,670 calendar dates, 1994–2014 one U.S. birth in 1,631 fell on February 29, and among the 6,025,603 people living in Denmark on January 1, 2026, 3,929 have the birthday, one in 1,534. This site’s main ranking counts totals, which is why February 29 is #366 there; judged per occurrence it is an ordinary date, and both facts are true.

Every leap year, in every series

Each series against itself: births on February 29, the index against that year’s average day, and the weekday it fell on. In every series a Saturday or Sunday records fewer births than a weekday, so a leap day that falls on a weekend runs low. The weekday is shown beside the index.

Five countries, matched years

Over 2007–2014, which holds two leap days (2008 and 2012), each country’s February 29 per occurrence against its own average day, with its rank of 366 on the same per-occurrence measure. Ranks and indices are within one country.

Two leap days are a small sample: 2008’s fell on a Friday and 2012’s on a Wednesday.

The people

Statistics Denmark’s register counts everyone living in Denmark by day and month of birth, so it answers a second question: how many people alive today have the birthday. On January 1, 2026, 3,929 residents were born on February 29, one in 1,534, about a quarter of an ordinary date’s 16,466, as expected for a date that comes once in four years. The full resident calendar.

Check how rare your own birthday is → · February 29 in the U.S., date by date · The least common birthday · Christmas birthdays