A Valentine's Day birthday is relatively common in these historical U.S. records. February 14 ranks #62 of 366 dates, with #1 meaning most common. It also has the highest birth total of any February date.
There were 245,412 recorded February 14 births from 1994 through 2014. That is 0.286% of all births in the selected sample, or about 1 in 349 recorded births. These are historical U.S. records, not a count of everyone who shares the birthday today.
February 14, beside other birthdays
Average recorded births each time a date occurred, 1994 through 2014.
- Commonness rank
- 62 / 366
- Share of recorded births
- 0.286 %
- Recorded births
- 245,412
Bars start at zero. Rank 1 means most common and uses total births across all 366 dates. The bars use births per actual occurrence; February 29 appeared five times, while the other dates appeared 21 times.
Check February 14 and compare with a friend →How does February 14 compare with nearby birthdays?
February 14 has more recorded births than both February 13 and February 15. It also exceeds February 7 and February 21, which fall on the same weekday as February 14 within each year.
| Date | Recorded births | Commonness rank | Birth share |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 7 | 235,078 | 165 | 0.274% |
| February 13 | 223,590 | 344 | 0.261% |
| February 14 | 245,412 | 62 | 0.286% |
| February 15 | 235,803 | 153 | 0.275% |
| February 21 | 232,134 | 212 | 0.271% |
| February 29 | 52,561 | 366 | 0.061% |
February 14 occurred 21 times in the selected period and averaged 11,686.3 recorded births per occurrence. February 29 occurred less often, so its total answers a different calendar question. The February guide covers the entire month, while the leap-day explanation separates total births from births per actual leap day.
Is the higher count consistent across years?
Yes, in this nearby-weekday comparison. Using SSA records from 2000 through 2014, February 14 had more births than the average of dates one and two weeks before and after it in each of the 15 years. That average uses January 31, February 7, February 21 and February 28, all sharing February 14's weekday in the same year.
Across the combined window, February 14 had 5.2% more births than those comparison dates. Using only the dates one week away or only those two weeks away also leaves February 14 above its comparison average.
| Year | Weekday | Recorded births | Nearby mean | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Monday | 12,152 | 11,207 | +8.4% |
| 2001 | Wednesday | 13,191 | 12,380.3 | +6.5% |
| 2002 | Thursday | 13,062 | 12,324.3 | +6.0% |
| 2003 | Friday | 13,051 | 12,398 | +5.3% |
| 2004 | Saturday | 8,944 | 8,453 | +5.8% |
| 2005 | Monday | 12,386 | 11,540.5 | +7.3% |
| 2006 | Tuesday | 13,886 | 13,223.8 | +5.0% |
| 2007 | Wednesday | 13,647 | 13,402.5 | +1.8% |
| 2008 | Thursday | 14,207 | 13,501 | +5.2% |
| 2009 | Saturday | 8,550 | 8,419 | +1.6% |
| 2010 | Sunday | 7,167 | 6,957.8 | +3.0% |
| 2011 | Monday | 12,111 | 11,321.3 | +7.0% |
| 2012 | Tuesday | 12,708 | 12,140.5 | +4.7% |
| 2013 | Thursday | 12,422 | 11,803.8 | +5.2% |
| 2014 | Friday | 12,494 | 11,937 | +4.7% |
February 14's higher count repeats even as it moves through the weekdays. The counts do not explain why births happened on that date. The source file has daily totals, not delivery methods, parental preferences or scheduling decisions.
What did other research find about Valentine's Day births?
A separate 2011 study of Valentine's Day and Halloween birth timing used U.S. birth-certificate records from 1996 through 2006. It compared each holiday with the surrounding week before and week after, with models adjusting for weekday and year. The authors reported an overall 5.0% increase in the likelihood of birth on Valentine's Day compared with the surrounding dates.
That study used a different source window and comparison method from this page's calculations. The authors discuss the holiday's cultural associations as a possible explanation. The observed pattern does not establish why an individual was born on February 14.
Sources and what the numbers mean
Our calculations use daily U.S. birth records compiled by FiveThirtyEight: CDC/NCHS for 1994 through 1999 and SSA for 2000 through 2014, with overlapping CDC years excluded. The rank, share and per-occurrence average use that combined period. The yearly comparison uses SSA 2000 through 2014 alone.
The two sources have different administrative coverage. The share is February 14's births divided by all births in the selected sample, including other months. It is not a worldwide probability or a current birth-rate estimate. The methodology explains the calculations; the birthday checker lets you compare February 14 with any other date.
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