"May 10 - The Most Popular Birthday in Belgium: Insights and Trends"

2023-05-10 15:39:32

Cakes, gifts and a record. May 10 is the day of the year when most Belgians celebrate their birthday.

“Sorry, I already have another party planned for this weekend.” If you invite a member of your entourage to celebrate your birthday and they answer you this, don’t panic, it’s (perhaps) not a false plan. The argument seems rather believable.

Of the 9.5 million people born in our country, 27,722 celebrate their birthday on May 10. It’s more than any other day. May 3, 5, 6, 11 and 14 as well as April 28 are also in the top 10, report our colleagues from Standard. Contrary to what the top of the ranking suggests, it is not in May that we most often sing “And another year gone by…”.

The peak tends to move over time. If, in the 1970s, it still extended from April to June, it is now fixed between July and September.

In France, the trend is similar. If the month of May was the first month of birth in the 1970s and 1980s, it is July that has imposed itself as the leader in recent decades. As here, the most “popular” birthday in France takes place at the beginning of May, on May 7 to be precise.

September 24 in Wallonia

In a number of countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the end of September is the most favorable time for birthdays. A random? Maybe not. In these countries, the end of year celebrations are celebrated as they should be… The same is true in Wallonia, where September 24 is the second most popular birthday.

Birthdays are not fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. This is mainly due to the winter months when infectious diseases are more common. Over time and advances in medical science, the trend has weakened significantly. Another is gaining momentum. The days with the fewest birthdays are always less conducive to births. These are all public holidays and the days around them.

More and more babies are coming into the world after an assisted delivery or a planned caesarean section. According to the latest figures, this is the case for almost four out of ten deliveries, explains gynecologist Isabelle Dehaene (UZ Gent). Doctors avoid weekends and holidays. Most children are now born on Mondays and Fridays. Parents also sometimes express their preference, explains Isabelle Dehaene. They avoid February 29, but also the 13, especially if it falls on a Friday.