Why is Monday 26 September the day of the year most babies are born?
Next Monday (26 September) isn't just any old Monday. It's the most popular day of the year to be born.
More babies will be brought into this world on 26th September than any other date.
The newborn boom seems to be explained by one calendar event in particular: Christmas.
When are the most babies born?
The most popular days for babies to be born are the 24th, 25th and 26th September. While you can't exactly choose your own birthday, parents-to-be across the country appear to have something more in common than they realise.
Nearly 2,000 children are born on the 26th each year, just trumping the other dates, analysis of UK government live birth data by thortful.com found.
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As many as 1974 bubbas are welcomed into the world, followed (or preceded) closely by 1965 on the 25th and 1958 on the 24th.
Counting backwards, this means parents conceived the most children on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing day (the most popular, exactly nine months prior).
An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report in 2015 stated the 26th September had in fact been the most popular day to be born then too, for the past two decades.
It opted for a slightly more 'sensible' explanation though: "Part of the reason for this increase in births could be due to couples planning to have children at the start of the school year."
It also found that if births were evenly distributed throughout the year there would be an average of 1,800 every day, (the average was 2,000 for the 26th then too) – showing just how much new life is delivered in one day.
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While eight of the top 10 dates of birth were near the end of September, and two in early October, six of the 10 least popular dates of birth fell in the Christmas and New Year period – a popular time to make, but not have a baby.
Meanwhile, 29 February saw the lowest total number of births over the 20-year-period (partly, of course, because it only occurs every four years...).
Famous faces born on the 26th September include Serena Williams, Bruce Springsteen, and the late Olivia Newton-John, and T.S Eliot – so who do you know born, or about to be born, on the popular date?
Watch: Adorable footage shows one of the first babies born under the reign of King Charles wearing a woolly crown
