Is December 24 a rare birthday? Very rare

Rarer than 99% of all 366 dates.

Christmas Eve is almost as quiet as Christmas Day: the holiday shutdown of scheduled births starts on the 24th.

December 24 #364
Most commonSeptember 9RarestDecember 25
Cartoon birthday scene for December 24: a child behind a cake whose candles spell the date
At a glance

Christmas Eve in numbers

The odds, the star sign and the other dates that come with it.

Born each year≈ 7,994in the United States — about 714,000 of them are alive today
In a full stadium101 peopleof 50,000 were born on December 24
On the day itselfEvery 11 secondsa baby is born on December 24 somewhere in the United States
Star signCapricornrarer than 26 of the 29 Capricorn birthdays
Half-birthdayJune 24six months later, to the day
Conceived aroundApril 2Right around April Fools' Day.
Birth frequency by rank

Where December 24 ranks

From most common birthday to rarest, December 24 ranks in position #364, with 7,994 births a year. 363 other dates are more common.

December 24#364 · 7,994 a year11,9006,546#1#366
56 years of records

December 24 through the years

Where it ranked in the United States, year by year.

Fell on a weekdayOn a weekend
rarestmost
common
1969, Wednesday: rank #309 of 365, 8,978 births1970, Thursday: rank #325 of 365, 9,120 births1971, Friday: rank #361 of 365, 7,826 births1972, Sunday: rank #366 of 366, 7,177 births1973, Monday: rank #351 of 365, 7,300 births1974, Tuesday: rank #324 of 365, 7,538 births1975, Wednesday: rank #301 of 365, 7,737 births1976, Friday: rank #331 of 366, 7,521 births1977, Saturday: rank #364 of 365, 7,354 births1978, Sunday: rank #322 of 365, 7,974 births1979, Monday: rank #311 of 365, 8,490 births1980, Wednesday: rank #287 of 366, 8,979 births1981, Thursday: rank #304 of 365, 8,741 births1982, Friday: rank #359 of 365, 8,186 births1983, Saturday: rank #362 of 365, 8,042 births1984, Monday: rank #307 of 366, 8,575 births1985, Tuesday: rank #274 of 365, 9,203 births1986, Wednesday: rank #275 of 365, 9,097 births1987, Thursday: rank #288 of 365, 8,919 births1988, Saturday: rank #361 of 366, 8,293 births1989, Sunday: rank #361 of 365, 8,468 births1990, Monday: rank #350 of 365, 8,891 births1991, Tuesday: rank #257 of 365, 10,147 births1992, Thursday: rank #311 of 366, 9,096 births1993, Friday: rank #347 of 365, 8,317 births1994, Saturday: rank #361 of 365, 7,898 births1995, Sunday: rank #365 of 365, 6,999 births1996, Tuesday: rank #267 of 366, 9,114 births1997, Wednesday: rank #257 of 365, 9,129 births1998, Thursday: rank #298 of 365, 8,464 births1999, Friday: rank #317 of 365, 8,046 births2000, Sunday: rank #365 of 366, 6,801 births2001, Monday: rank #347 of 365, 7,448 births2002, Tuesday: rank #265 of 365, 8,929 births2003, Wednesday: rank #262 of 365, 9,096 births2004, Friday: rank #323 of 366, 7,660 births2005, Saturday: rank #354 of 365, 7,161 births2006, Sunday: rank #364 of 365, 6,621 births2007, Monday: rank #337 of 365, 7,604 births2008, Wednesday: rank #261 of 366, 9,092 births2009, Thursday: rank #282 of 365, 8,300 births2010, Friday: rank #314 of 365, 7,446 births2011, Saturday: rank #361 of 365, 6,622 births2012, Monday: rank #317 of 366, 7,519 births2013, Tuesday: rank #255 of 365, 9,127 births2014, Wednesday: rank #254 of 365, 9,377 births2015, Thursday: rank #267 of 365, 8,714 births2016, Saturday: rank #356 of 366, 7,021 births2017, Sunday: rank #364 of 365, 6,386 births2018, Monday: rank #319 of 365, 7,323 births2019, Tuesday: rank #264 of 365, 8,411 births2020, Thursday: rank #293 of 366, 7,532 births2021, Friday: rank #295 of 365, 7,586 births2022, Saturday: rank #340 of 365, 6,789 births2023, Sunday: rank #364 of 365, 6,005 births2024, Tuesday: rank #256 of 366, 8,661 births1970198019902000201020202024

On a weekend it slips to #358, from #301 on a working day

Inductions and planned caesareans are booked on working days, so 14.3% fewer babies arrive and the date falls down the ranking. Each bar is the average rank of the years it landed on that day.

#330
Mon
#270
Tue
#276
Wed
#296
Thu
#331
Fri
#357
Sat
#359
Sun
Most common year
2014#254 of 365Wednesday · 9,377 births
Rarest year
1972#366 of 366Sunday · 7,177 births
Weekend years
16 of 5629% of the record2023 was the most recent
Around the world

December 24 in other countries

December 24 is the 3rd rarest birthday in the United States. It is among the 50 rarest in 23 of the 26 other countries, and ranges from #83 in Japan to #366 in Denmark.

  1. Japan

    #83 of 366

    2,869 births on an average December 24

    e-Stat, 1996–⁠2025

  2. Slovenia

    #269 of 366

    51 births on an average December 24

    SURS, 2000–⁠2025

  3. Philippines

    #304 of 366

    4,227 births on an average December 24

    PSA, 2006–⁠2024

  4. Malaysia

    #333 of 366

    1,333 births on an average December 24

    DOSM, 2000–⁠2022

  5. Netherlands

    #339 of 366

    475 births on an average December 24

    CBS, 1995–⁠2025

  6. Chile

    #356 of 366

    534 births on an average December 24

    DEIS, 1990–⁠2017

  7. Belgium

    #358 of 366

    259 births on an average December 24

    Statbel, 1992–⁠2025

  8. Latvia

    #359 of 366

    44 births on an average December 24

    CSB, 1996–⁠2025

  9. New Zealand

    #359 of 366

    145 births on an average December 24

    Stats NZ, 1980–⁠2023

  10. Costa Rica

    #361 of 366

    148 births on an average December 24

    INEC Costa Rica, 2014–⁠2024

  11. Brazil

    #362 of 366

    5,992 births on an average December 24

    DATASUS, 1997–⁠2024

  12. England & Wales

    #362 of 366

    1,668 births on an average December 24

    ONS, 1995–⁠2025

  13. France

    #362 of 366

    1,889 births on an average December 24

    INSEE, 1998–⁠2024

  14. Mexico

    #362 of 366

    3,896 births on an average December 24

    INEGI, 2017–⁠2023

  15. Peru

    #362 of 366

    1,004 births on an average December 24

    INEI, 2019–⁠2025

  16. Ecuador

    #363 of 366

    630 births on an average December 24

    INEC, 2013–⁠2023

  17. Guatemala

    #363 of 366

    733 births on an average December 24

    INE Guatemala, 2018–⁠2024

  18. Hungary

    #363 of 366

    266 births on an average December 24

    KSH, 1970–⁠2020

  19. Switzerland

    #363 of 366

    183 births on an average December 24

    FSO, 1969–⁠2025

  20. Argentina

    #364 of 366

    878 births on an average December 24

    DEIS, 2018–⁠2023

  21. Finland

    #364 of 366

    107 births on an average December 24

    Statistics Finland, 2010–⁠2025

  22. Ireland

    #364 of 366

    128 births on an average December 24

    CSO, 1980–⁠2023

  23. Norway

    #364 of 366

    110 births on an average December 24

    SSB, 2011–⁠2025

  24. Germany

    #365 of 366

    1,460 births on an average December 24

    Destatis, 2014–⁠2025

  25. Portugal

    #365 of 366

    220 births on an average December 24

    INE Portugal, 1980–⁠2025

  26. Denmark

    #366 of 366

    110 births on an average December 24

    Statistics Denmark, 2007–⁠2025
Birthday twins

Famous people born on Christmas Eve

Ranked by how often people looked them up on Wikipedia last year.

Empress Elisabeth of AustriaEmpress Elisabeth of AustriaHabsburg consort from 1854 to 1898 · born 1837Howard HughesHoward HughesAmerican aviator, aerospace engineer and business magnate · born 1905Ryan SeacrestRyan SeacrestAmerican television and radio host · born 1974Kate SpadeKate SpadeAmerican fashion designer · born 1962Ava GardnerAva GardnerAmerican actress · born 1922John, King of EnglandJohn, King of EnglandKing of England from 1199 to 1216 · born 1166Anthony FauciAnthony FauciAmerican immunologist · born 1940Ricky MartinRicky MartinPuerto Rican singer · born 1971
Zoom out

December against the other eleven

December 24 is the 2nd rarest of the 31 days in December. All December birthdays.

December is the 4th rarest month of the year

An average December day sees 10,633 births in the United States. September is the busiest month, January the quietest.

10,394
Jan
10,637
Feb
10,658
Mar
10,557
Apr
10,702
May
10,990
Jun
11,238
Jul
11,405
Aug
11,448
Sep
10,872
Oct
10,616
Nov
10,633
Dec
December 23
Births a year10,052
Rank#351
December 24
Births a year7,994
Rank#364
December 25
Births a year6,546
Rank#366

December 24 is the 2nd rarest of the 15 days around it

#122
17
#85
18
#61
19
#15
20
#29
21
#124
22
#351
23
#364
24
#366
25
#361
26
#56
27
#6
28
#24
29
#37
30
#350
31
The whole year

Every date on one grid

In the United States, September is the busiest month of the year to be born in and January the quietest.

Each square is one date

December 24#364 of 3667,994 births a year

JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD151015202530
RarestMost common

Compare with a friend

See how December 24 stacks up against someone else's birthday.

YouDecember 24
#364Rank
7,994Births a year
Friend
Questions

Quick answers

Is Christmas Eve a rare birthday?

Yes. Christmas Eve is one of the rarest US birthdays, just above Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Deliveries that can wait, wait.

How many babies are born on December 24?

About 7,994 a year in the United States. It was at its most common in 2014, when 9,377 babies were born and it ranked #254 of 365; at its rarest in 1972, with 7,177 births at #366.

Is December 24 a common birthday?

In the United States, December 24 is the 3rd rarest of 366 dates, with about 7,994 births a year. That puts it on the rarer side of the calendar.

What is the rarest December birthday?

In the United States, December 25: the rarest of all 366 dates, with about 6,546 births a year. The most common December birthday is December 28, the 6th most common of the year.

How precise is the ranking?

For December 24 the rank is stable. Only this date sits within 1% of its count, so the order does not depend on which years you count. In the crowded middle, dozens of dates can sit within a single percent of each other.

Is December 24 rarer in other countries?

In some. It is rarer in 3 of the 26 other countries we hold daily records for. It is at its rarest in Denmark, at #366 of 366, and at its most common in Japan, at #83.

Our data

How this is counted

Every date is ranked by how many babies are born on it in the United States. Live births by day of birth from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, 1989–⁠2024.

Read the full methodology →

Updated October 2026