Is January 17 a rare birthday? Uncommon
Rarer than 79% of all 366 dates.
January 17 in numbers
The odds, the star sign and the other dates that come with it.
Where January 17 ranks
From most common birthday to rarest, January 17 ranks in position #289, with 10,558 births a year. 288 other dates are more common. 84 dates are within 1% of its count, anywhere from #244 to #328, so the exact position is a close thing.
January 17 through the years
Where it ranked in the United States, year by year.
common
January 17 in other countries
January 17 is the 78th rarest birthday in the United States. It is among the 50 rarest in 3 of the 26 other countries, and ranges from #50 in Argentina to #350 in Malaysia.
Argentina
#50 of 366
1,673 births on an average January 17
DEIS, 2018–2023Chile
#57 of 366
714 births on an average January 17
DEIS, 1990–2017Slovenia
#68 of 366
56 births on an average January 17
SURS, 2000–2025Japan
#74 of 366
2,878 births on an average January 17
e-Stat, 1996–2025Guatemala
#75 of 366
980 births on an average January 17
INE Guatemala, 2018–2024Hungary
#112 of 366
332 births on an average January 17
KSH, 1970–2020Philippines
#136 of 366
4,565 births on an average January 17
PSA, 2006–2024Mexico
#137 of 366
5,135 births on an average January 17
INEGI, 2017–2023Belgium
#168 of 366
328 births on an average January 17
Statbel, 1992–2025Peru
#170 of 366
1,206 births on an average January 17
INEI, 2019–2025Costa Rica
#192 of 366
167 births on an average January 17
INEC Costa Rica, 2014–2024Portugal
#198 of 366
296 births on an average January 17
INE Portugal, 1980–2025Finland
#213 of 366
139 births on an average January 17
Statistics Finland, 2010–2025Brazil
#214 of 366
7,891 births on an average January 17
DATASUS, 1997–2024Germany
#222 of 366
1,983 births on an average January 17
Destatis, 2014–2025Latvia
#234 of 366
53 births on an average January 17
CSB, 1996–2025Switzerland
#247 of 366
219 births on an average January 17
FSO, 1969–2025England & Wales
#250 of 366
1,760 births on an average January 17
ONS, 1995–2025France
#257 of 366
2,111 births on an average January 17
INSEE, 1998–2024Ireland
#281 of 366
164 births on an average January 17
CSO, 1980–2023New Zealand
#286 of 366
154 births on an average January 17
Stats NZ, 1980–2023Norway
#286 of 366
145 births on an average January 17
SSB, 2011–2025Netherlands
#291 of 366
485 births on an average January 17
CBS, 1995–2025Denmark
#319 of 366
156 births on an average January 17
Statistics Denmark, 2007–2025Ecuador
#322 of 366
716 births on an average January 17
INEC, 2013–2023Malaysia
#350 of 366
1,312 births on an average January 17
DOSM, 2000–2022
Famous people born on January 17
Ranked by how often people looked them up on Wikipedia last year.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.American politician · born 1954
Muhammad AliAmerican boxer and activist · born 1942
Jim CarreyCanadian and American actor · born 1962
Jake PaulAmerican influencer and professional boxer · born 1997
Oleksandr UsykUkrainian boxer · born 1987
Zooey DeschanelAmerican actress and singer · born 1980
Benjamin FranklinAmerican Founding Father and polymath · born 1706
Michelle ObamaFirst Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017 · born 1964January against the other eleven
January 17 is the 12th most common of the 31 days in January. All January birthdays.
January is the rarest month of the year
An average January day sees 10,394 births in the United States. September is the busiest month, January the quietest.
Quick answers
How many babies are born on January 17?
About 10,558 a year in the United States. It was at its most common in 1973, when 9,196 babies were born and it ranked #76 of 365; at its rarest in 2021, with 6,054 births at #362.
Is January 17 a common birthday?
In the United States, January 17 is the 78th rarest of 366 dates, with about 10,558 births a year. That puts it on the rarer side of the calendar.
What is the rarest January birthday?
In the United States, January 1: the 2nd rarest of all 366 dates, with about 7,731 births a year. The most common January birthday is January 4, the 179th most common of the year.
How precise is the ranking?
In the middle of the calendar it is not exact. 84 other dates are within 1% of January 17's count, spread from #244 to #328, so the position inside that group would shift with a different set of years. That band is the accurate answer; the rank is the simple one. At the ends — Christmas Day, New Year's Day — nothing is close.
Is January 17 rarer in other countries?
In some. It is rarer in 4 of the 26 other countries we hold daily records for. It is at its rarest in Malaysia, at #350 of 366, and at its most common in Argentina, at #50.
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.
Updated October 2026