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If the birthday of a character is included in a work, then it is either plot-relevant or significant for the character. Or both.

In Real Life, people are born on random dates. In fiction, while it's possible for the creator to just choose a random date, if a character's date of birth is given (even if it's just in supplementary material), then nine times out of ten, it has some sort of symbolic meaning. This can be a character obsessed with romance being born on February 14th, or an unlucky character being born on Friday the 13th. The meaning can also be ironic, such as a bright and cheerful character being born on October 31st. It can also, owing to When the Planets Align, have actual meaning.

Compare Died on Their Birthday, where a character's birthdate also comes to signify the day one dies. May lead to an I Remember Because.... Can often overlap with Significant Reference Date, if the birthday is a reference to some real-world date, such as the date of their first appearance, the premiere/publication of some work within the franchise, the birthday of the person who inspired their creation, etc.


Examples:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • ×××HOLiC:
    • Watanuki in was born on April 1st, a date with significance in both the East and the West. It's also a date personally significant to CLAMP; they consider it the anniversary of their founding. Sakura Kinomoto of Cardcaptor Sakura was also born on April 1st, which is a pretty important coincidence... The main character Sakura of Tsubasa Chronicle also has the same birthday. Guess what. It's a plot point.
    • Sakura's brother Touya was born on February 29th, meaning the poor guy could only have a birthday every leap year. His mother always added it to her date calendars.
  • Aoi from Ai Yori Aoshi was born on the day of tanabata, which celebrates the once-a-year meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) across the Milky Way. It's the Asian equivalent to Valentine's Day.
  • Attack on Titan joined in this trope with the release of the second official Guidebook.
    • Levi was born on December 25th.
    • Armin's birthday is November 3rd, which is celebrated in Japan as Culture Day.
    • Krista was born on January 15th, the original date Coming Of Age day was celebrated in Japan (1948 - 2000).
    • Reiner shares his birthday, August 1st, with the unofficial "holiday" known as Yaoi Day.
  • In Bakuman。, Azuki's birthday is November 5. This has absolutely no bearing on the plot of Bakuman。, but it seems to be the creators' olive branch to the month of November after Death Note, which had particularly nasty developments occur in all three Novembers featured in the series, and especially November 5.
  • Interesting variation in Bleach: Rangiku Matsumoto did not have a birthday until her childhood friend Gin found out and made the day they met her birthday.
    • The reason for that is because she never really counted days until she met Gin.
  • Played With in Blue Exorcist: Rin and Yukio celebrate their birthday on December 27, two days after Christmas, so they grew up celebrating the two events together. Given that the pair are both Anti Anti Christs, a Christmas birthday seems to have some interesting symbolism.
  • All characters in Bungou Stray Dogs share their birthdate with the author they're named after. This has become such a thing that it is a sure-fire way for fans to determine the birthday (and, as such, their zodiac sign) of characters who didn't get officially named one, but are still named after a writer. For example, Andre Gide is assumed to have his birthdate on November 22.
  • In Case Closed, Shinichi's birthday is 4th of May, the day when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty supposedly fell of the Reichenbach falls.
  • Death Note:
    • What could be a better day for a sugar loving detective to be born than Halloween, the day random strangers give candy to whoever knocks on their door, and being anonymous is perfectly normal?
    • There's also Misa, whose birthday falls on Christmas. Quite appropriate for a character who's childlike, cute and willing to give of herself to others (specifically, Light); this is Inverted, however, by the end of the series, in which her death date is revealed to be Valentine's Day, a little over a year after she lost the love of her life.
  • Digimon:
    • In Digimon Data Squad, Masaru Daimon's birthday is stated to be April 2nd, the same as the airdate of the anime's first episode.
    • In Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning, Lui Ohwada's birthday is on February 29, which technically means he only celebrates his birthday every 4 years. He originally got his Digivice on February 29, 1996, the birthday of a four-year-old Lui. Ukkomon makes a point of giving him a birthday gift on each date, the latest of which is on 2012.
  • In Earth's Defense Family, Seiko was born on July 7, the same day as the Japanese festival Tanabata. She notes the irony of being born on a romantic holiday while she's currently in a failing marriage, and spends the day with her not-quite-lover, Hayakawa.
  • Played With in Eden of the East: the main character has Identity Amnesia and discovers among his possessions numerous fake passports. He notices that one, "Takizawa Akira," has a birthday just one day different from Saki, the soon-to-be-Love Interest whom he just met; he takes this as a sign and chooses that as his new identity. Incidentally, both dates were in the final week of the Showa Era, which fits into the show's major theme of building a new society.
  • In Free!, Haruka Nanase is born on June 30th - the same date as American swimmer Michael Phelps.
  • In Full Metal Panic!, Kaname was born on December 24. So was Tessa. In fact, every Whispered has the same birth date and time, to within three minutes. There's a reason for this...
  • The birthdays of many Girls und Panzer characters coincide with historic battles.
  • Victorique of Gosick was born on December 25, Christmas Day. Fitting and ironic, considering her intended fate.
  • Haikyuu!! has few examples of significant birthdays:
    • The protagonist Hinata Shouyou’s birthday is June 21st, the longest day of the year. His name means “sunny place” and he has a sunny personality with bright orange hair and warm brown eyes.
    • His friendly rival Kageyama Tobio’s birthday is December 22nd, the longest night of the year. Kageyama means “shadow mountain” and in contrast to Hinata he has a colder and less friendly demeanour. He also sports jet-black hair and navy-blue eyes.
    • Team’s libero Nishinoya was born on 10/10 in contrast to team’s The Ace Asahi who was born on 01/01. Like Kageyama and Hinata, they are opposites and complements: Nishinoya short, loud, and blunt and Asahi the Gentle Giant. Again like Kageyama and Hinata, their names also reflect this with Nishinoya Yuu meaning “Western Valley Evening” and Azumane Asahi meaning “Eastern Peak Morning Sun”.
    • Tsukishima’s loyal friend and Sidekick Yamaguchi Tadashi was born on November 10th, the same day as the famous loyal Japanese dog Hachiko. Tadashi and Hachiko are also written with the same kanji.
  • In Hetalia: Axis Powers, character birthdays are often a country's Independence Day. This is because said characters are personified countries.
  • Hunter × Hunter:
    • Cheerful Child Gon was born on May 5th (a.k.a. Children's Day in Japan).
    • Killua's birthday (a.k.a. 7/7) falls on Tanabata, a Japanese festival holiday centering around a folklore tale of star-crossed lovers. Killua and the character of Orihime share some similarities, and the beginning of the Tanabata myth also shares some themes with the beginning of Killua's character arc as both are employed by their fathers, both are unhappy in their lives and wish for connections with others that their work prevents, both eventually abandon their work entirely after meeting another person (which displeases their fathers), and both of their fathers (Silva and Orihime's father) allow their children to pursue their important bond, but expect that their children will return to their roles in time.
    • Kurapika's birthday is April 4th. In Japanese culture, the number 4, due to one of it's possible pronunciations, is considered the number of death, and April is the fourth month of the year. This date reflects his determination to apprehend or kill the members of the Phantom Troupe, and he is indeed referred to as a "god of death" in one of their predictions.
    • Leorio's birthday is on March 3rd which is the date the manga first came out. This is more of an irony since Leorio receives the least amount of screen-time out of all of the main characters in the story.
    • All of the four characters listed above share a feature where the number of the month and day of his birthday are the same. This is also true for Hisoka who was born on 6/6 (though his birthday in itself has no significance unless you consider the number 666).
  • Jewelpet: Most Jewelpets have their birthdays in the months equivalent to the birthstones they represent. So Ruby was born in July, Garnet in January, Sapphie in September, Diana (diamond) in April, etc.
  • Juni Taisen: Zodiac War: Every character was born on the same day as their birth month. ex: Tiger was born on January 1, Ox on February 2, and Rat on March 3. The Twelve Criminals from the sequel were also born on these days.
    • Invoked with Snake and Dragon. Despite being twins, they were registered by their parents on October 10 and November 11, respectively.
    • Subverted with Rabbit, whose birthday (and real name) is unknown, but implied to be December 12, which is also the day the tournament takes place.
  • All five members of the student council in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War have their birthdays on holidays (and all of them are on the same day of the month as month of the year).
  • Komi Can't Communicate: Komi's birthday is December 25th.
  • In Lucky Star:
    • Kou Yasaka's birthday is on Setsubun.
    • Akira Kogami: Valentine's day, but not much is made of it.
    • Hiyori's birthday is May 24th; Konata's is the 28th. This proximity gives Hiyori a greater sense of them being kindred spirits. (No word on how Konata perceives it.)
    • The Hiiragi twins' birthday is on Tanabata.
    • Misao's birthday is July 20th, which is the original fixed date of Marine Day (Umi no Hi), formerly Marine Memorial Day (Umi no kinen bi), and still falls on it when the 1st of July is a Wednesday. Hiyori says the day predicts a high-energy life.
    • School Nurse Fuyuki Amahara's is September 17th, which is Respect for the Aged Day (Keiro no Hi) when the 1st falls on a Saturday.
  • Lyrical Nanoha:
    • Nanoha's birthday is March 15, probably the single most ironic date possible. First, it's the Ides of March, a day associated with the antithesis of her life philosophy. Second, it's Hounen Matsuri, a Shinto fertility festival that features the procession of a giant wooden phallus, something she would have no interest in as a lesbian.
    • Hayate Yagami was born June 4th (6/4). It invokes both the Number of the Beast and Four Is Death, which fits her status as master of The Book of Darkness.
  • Every single one of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun's seven main characters has a birthdate that has some relevance to their characterization.
    • Nozaki's first name means "Plum boy" and he was born on Plum day (6/6).
    • Sakura was born on Sakura (Cherry Blossom) day (3/27).
    • Mikoshiba is known around school for being a flirty Chick Magnet and was born on Valentine's day (2/14).
    • Kashima often wears costumes because she acts in the drama club and was born on Halloween (10/31).
    • Hori has a leg fetish and was born on Nice-Knee-High's (as in the socks) day (11/28),
    • Seo, who has tons of admirers who have never seen her face, was born on Tanabata (7/7) which celebrates two deities who are star-crossed lovers.
    • Wakamatsu suffers from insomnia and was born on Sleep Science day (9/3).
  • My Hero Academia:
  • My-HiME: Miyu's birthday is July 4th being a Robot Girl made by a secret organization from America. Alyssa's birthday is April 1st being an artificial HiME, also by that secret organization.
  • The title character of Naruto was born on October 10th (10/10). When the manga was first serialized, October 10th was Health and Sports Day in Japan, a fitting birthday for the energetic protagonist. This lost some meaning when the holiday was moved to the second Monday in October to create a three-day weekend.
    • Kiba Inuzuka's birthday is July 7th (7/7), as is the case for his loyal nin-dog, Akamaru.
  • According to this timeline of Neon Genesis Evangelion, some of the characters' birthdays just so happen around the same time as various tragedies throughout the show.
    • Kaji is killed on December 7th (the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor), the day before Misato's birthday on December 8th (the day the U.S. declared war on Japan in World War II) and three days after Asuka's birthday on December 4th (the Japanese were preparing their attack on Pearl Harbor).
    • Kaworu is killed on December 25th (Christmas), and the next day, December 26th (Boxing Day), is Toji's birthday as well as the first day of End of Evangelion.
    • All the main characters share the same birthdays as their Japanese voice actors/actresses.
      • Shinji and Megumi Ogata – June 6
      • Misato and Kotono Mitsuishi – December 8
      • Asuka and Yuko Miyamura – December 4
      • Kaji and Kōichi Yamadera – June 17
      • and the list goes on.
  • Ojamajo Doremi: Hazuki Fujiwara's birthday is on Valentine's Day, and this plays a role in a "Naisho" episode.
  • One Piece:
    • Luffy's birthday is on Children's Day (May 5), Usopp's is April Fool's Day, and Chopper's is Christmas Eve. Sanji's, Franky's, and Brook's are word puns. Zoro's birthday is also a word pun, but it falls on Armistice Day.
    • Nearly every major character has a birthday like this, and almost all were chosen by the fans — Oda just said "Sure, why not?."
  • Ouran High School Host Club does this. Honey, who is older than he looks, was born on February 29, the joke being that he ages only every four years. The twins Hikaru and Kaoru were born on June 9 (6/9), showing that they're alike, but different. Or, you know...
  • The Quintessential Quintuplets: The Nakano sisters' birthday is on May 5, that is, the fifth day of the fifth month.
  • Re:Zero: Subaru's birthday is on April Fools' Day, fitting for all of his bad luck.
  • In Rent-A-Girlfriend, Mami Nanami's birthday is on November 13th. She's not a pleasant person.
  • The Rose of Versailles: Oscar's birthday is on December the 25th. Plus she dies at age 33 on July 14th.
  • In Sk8 the Infinity Reki's birthday is August 8th and Langa's is February 8th. August is the middle of the summer and Reki has a sunny personality with bright red hair and warm eyes. February is the middle of the winter and contrary to Reki, Langa has a cooler disposition with icy blue hair and matching eyes. Reki's name uses the kanji 'sun' as radical and Langa is an ice-themed character with his skating nickname being "Snow". The 8 in both birth dates is a reference to the name of the series and the symbol of infinity.
  • Skip Beat!:
    • Maria Takarada's birthday is December 24th. Shortly before her fifth birthday, she begged her overseas-working parents to please come home to spend her birthday with her. Unfortunately, this led to her mother dying in an airplane crash on her fifth birthday. She's been rather reluctant to celebrate since.
    • Protagonist Kyouko's birthday happens to be the day after, December 25th.
  • For Slam Dunk, super rookie Rukawa is born on New Year's Day (1/1), The Ace Sendoh on Valentine's Day and protagonist Sakuragi on April Fool's.
  • In Star★Twinkle Pretty Cure, the birthday of every Cure is also the same day as a significant event in space travel.
    • Hikaru’s birthday is April 12, the day the Soviet Union launched Yuri Gagarin into space.
    • Lala’s birthday is July 7, Tanabata. This is the only one pointed out in the show proper.
    • Elena’s birthday is September 8, which is also the premiere date of Star Trek: The Original Series.
    • Madoka’s birthday is November 23, the day Edwin Hubble made public his discovery of the Andromeda galaxy.
    • Finally, Yuni’s birthday is October 11, the same day the Apollo 7 mission was launched.
  • Symphogear: Kirika's birthday is April 13, a reference to the lyric "Death 13" from her original Image Song Gokuren • Igalima. April is the fourth month, connecting it to Four Is Death. And 13 Is Unlucky.
  • Mochizou of Tamako Market was born on 10 October, a day known as the "mochi day"— fitting for the child of mochi makers whose name also means "mochi maker". Tamako herself was born on 31 December (New Years Eve), and is always forgotten because it's the busiest day of the year for mochi makers like her family.
  • Tiger & Bunny has a curious subversion. Barnaby's birthday is on Halloween, a date chock full of implications, but this isn't alluded to at all in his Birthday Episode.
  • Tokyo Ghoul uses this with a few characters.
    • Protagonist Ken Kaneki and the legendary Kishou Arima were both born on December 20th. It turns out to be one of many similarities between them.
    • Shuu Tsukiyama's birthday, March 3rd, is Hina-matsuri.
    • Donato Porpora was born on Valentine's Day.
    • Nimura Furuta's birthday is February 29th, also known as Leap Day. His given name, Nimura, is a play on 2-2-9.
  • In Tokyo Mew Mew, Quiche's birthday is February 14th, aka Valentine's Day. He's an obsessed stalker who will flirt with his crush at any and all times, even while he's actively trying to kill her.
  • On Urusei Yatsura, the absurdly unlucky protagonist Ataru Moroboshi was born on April 13th, the second-unluckiest day of the year in the Japanese calendar, and in the year he was born was also the anniversary of the Buddha's death.
  • All four main characters of Weiß Kreuz have significant birthdays: Youji's is March 3, which is Girls' Day in Japan; Aya's is July 4, American Independence Day, and he lives in the U.S. for a couple of years, plus his Evil Counterpart is American; Ken's December 23, the Emperor's Birthday (from 1989 to 2018, during the reign of Emperor Akihito) and the day before Christmas Eve, he's a lapsed Catholic; and Omi is the ever-popular February 29. Interestingly, it's been deduced that the WK anime takes place in 1998. Omi's canon age is 17. Count backwards and you realize that Omi's year of birth wasn't actually a leap year. Of course, Omi Tsukiyono is a made up identity and doesn't technically exist; why should his birthday?

    Asian Animation 
  • In Infinity Nado, Dawn's birthday is August 17th, which would make his Western Zodiac symbol Leo, the lion. Leo is a fire symbol, which fits Dawn because his Infinity Nado powers are based around fire.
  • Xia An'an from Flower Angel was born on February 14th, Valentine's Day. She's associated with the camellia flower, which represents love and affection.
  • Doby and Disy from Doby & Disy were both born on June 1st, making their zodiac symbol Gemini, the twins. Sure enough, they're twins.

    Card Games 
  • In Magic: The Gathering, Urza was born on the first day of the year and Mishra was born on the last. This meant that Urza was one year older than Mishra except on Mishra's birthday. That very day is the day that Urza activated the Golgothian Sylex, destroying pretty much everything, including the brother he had been warring against for decades, "winning" the war and ascending to Planeswalker-hood.

    Comic Books 
  • Asterix: Asterix and Obelix, who are best friends, were apparently born on the same birth date. This is however a Series Continuity Error with the album "Obelix and Company" in which only Obelix' birthday is celebrated.
  • From Batman: The Long Halloween:
    Alberto Falcone: [To his dad, Carmine] Do you even know when my birthday is? I'll give you a hint. It falls on a holiday.
  • In Liberality for All, one of the main characters was born on September 11, 2001.
  • Before the Crisis, both Superman and Captain Marvelnote  celebrated their birthdays on February 29th, the leap year day. Certainly the most memorable Superman birthday story was Alan Moore's For the Man Who Has Everything.
  • Jenny Sparks (from The Authority) was the spirit of the 20th Century so obviously was born on January 1st 1900. In Planetary it was revealed that this was the birthdate of a raft of superhumans designed to act as humanity's "immune system". The Authority also subsequently featured Jenny Quantum, the spirit of the 21st century, who was born... well, you get the idea.
  • Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, was born July 4, 1917. note 
  • Urbanus: In "De Hete Urbanus" it is revealed that Urbanus' mother was born on April 1st. This is why people always forget the birth date, because they are too busy thinking up April Fool's Day pranks.
  • Post Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! Dick Grayson, whose first hero identity was as the first Robin a bird whose migrations are considered to herald spring, has his birthday on March 21st, the first day of spring. note 

    Comic Strips 
  • In Snake Tales, the Butt-Monkey Snake's birthday is April 25, Anzac Day.

    Fan Works 
  • The Danganronpa Continuation fic Danganronpa: Paradise Lost has a few symbolic birthdates:
    • Daisuke Hiyori, the Ultimate Hikikomori, was born on the most isolated day of the year, February 29th.
    • Noriko Aino, Daisuke's Stalker with a Crush, was born on Valentine's Day.
    • Shion Nanashi was born on April 1st, just like Monaca Towa. Because she is an amnesiac Monaca Towa.
    • Ice skater Miyuki Nagasu was born on July 23rd - the same day the International Skating Union was founded.
    • Televangelist Yashiro Fujiwara was born on January 2nd, sharing a birthday with real life televangelist of The PTL Club infamy Jim Bakker.
    • Goh Hanma was born on March 18th, the anniversary of the arrest of several members of the Spur Posse on charges of sex crimes. His backstory involves him cutting ties with a group of Jerk Jocks with a similar modus operandi to the Spur Posse.
  • The Differentverse: Per canon, Spike hatched the day of the Rainboom. Dinky was born at the same time.
  • The Superjail! fanfic Extended Stay: The Warden and the Mistress's twins Matilda and Ethan are born a month early on the same day their parents get married. However, the anniversary/birthday is never revealed.
  • In chapter 1 of SilfofinaDragon's Sengoku Basara fanfic Finally Home, the first day on Chosokabe Motochika's ship heading back from Aki (Mori Motonari's land) is the seventh anniversary of Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura's son Masa's stillborn son, fathered by the late Oyamada Nobushige, though the baby (Tsukitora) was revived by Kyogoku Maria, and had been introduced to Masa on that day. Masa mentions it's Tsuki's birthday in chapter 1 part 4.
  • The Omnidisciplinary Scientist protagonist of Fire Emblem Heroes: Kiran's Story, who has demonstrated to be the key to create a new era of progress in the world of Zenith and even all the other worlds the heroes he summons come from, was born on January 1st 2000. It's even stated he came out from his mother just a few seconds after everybody yelled Happy New Year.
  • In Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Gentaro's birthday is on November 30th. This is significant, zodiac wise, in that while he is considered to be a Scorpio, he's actually born under the sign of Ophiuchus. It's hinted that he's also a descendant of Asclepius, the man who would become the original serpent-bearer.
  • Kitsune: From "Chapter 9", after getting a fake birthday due to a Gender Bender:
    I was now officially fifteen, with a 'birthdate' of January 1st, 1992. My birthday was the day I got shot, or rather the day my 'late father' got shot.
  • In the Punch-Out!! fanfic Ma Fille:
    • Glass Joe's birthday is September 18th, the day that Punch-Out!! on the NES was releasednote .
    • Von Kaiser (a German man)'s birthday is October 3rd, which is German Unity Day.
    • Aran Ryan, who is Irish, was born on St. Patrick's Day.
  • In The New Retcons Claire was born on April 1, the same day as April. This was yet another reason Elly resented April, as she just reminded Elly of having to give Claire up for adoption.
  • In The Private Diary of Elizabeth Quatermain, Tom Sawyer's birth date is given as March 21st, the first day of spring. The author explains that she couldn't find a canonical birthday for the character, so she decided that one made sense for a character who describes himself as an optimist. Meanwhile, the title character of the series, who manages to forget her own birthday at one point, has the same birth date as the author because "I'm not using it very much just now, so I let her borrow it."
  • In School Spirit, a crossover fic in which Harry Potter has the memories of Harry Dresden, it is mentioned that Harry D's birthday is the same day that Harry P was orphaned. Harry has never once thought that this might be a coincidence.
  • In Where Talent Goes on Vacation, Akira Azuki, the Ultimate Actress and a fan of William Shakespeare, particularly Hamlet and Julius Caesar, was born on the Ides of March, the date Caesar was assassinated.

    Films — Animation 

    Films — Live-Action 
  • Born on the Fourth of July is pretty self-explanatory. It's also heavy with irony, as the man with the significant birth date is maimed in the Vietnam War and becomes an anti-war activist.
  • A Very Long Engagement: The main character is a young woman who was born on 1 January 1900.
  • In the song and movie Yankee Doodle Dandy, "Little Johnny Jones" (as played by George M. Cohan [as played by Jimmy Cagney]) claimed to have been born on the 4th of July. Cohan himself was probably born on the 3rd.
  • In The Omen (1976), Damien is born on 6 June at 6 a.m. Think about that a second.
  • In the 1970 Disney film The Boatniks, the main character, a clumsy Coast Guard ensign, was born on December 7, 1941 — the day of the Pearl Harbor attack.
  • The Pink Panther:
  • In the Friday the 13th film series, the titular unlucky date is the birthday of Villain Protagonist Jason Voorhees.
  • In Can't Buy Me Love, nerdy protagonist Ronald says he was born on July 20th, 1969 — the day of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
  • The Bourne Series: Jason Bourne is told he was born on 4/15/71. It's a code, the character telling him that is passing on vital info. It's not his actual birthday, but a New York address (415 71st Street) where Bourne can find the answers to his questions.
  • In Raintree County, John and Susanna's son Jimmy is born the day the Civil War begins.
  • In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the titular character was born on the same day WWI ended.
  • Forrest Gump:
    • Forrest was born on June 6, 1944, the date of D-Day, when the Allied forces landed in Normandy, France during WWII.
    • Jenny was born on July 16, 1945, the date of the Trinity Test when the United States successfully tested an atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. Her date of death - March 22nd, 1982 - is also significant, as it was the launch date of the Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-3...which landed at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, the only shuttle mission to do so. The latter would at first glance seem not so significant within the film's context as the Columbia disaster happened long after the film's release. However, the backup commander for mission STS-3 was Ken Mattingly, who was portrayed by Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan) in Apollo 13, which also starred Tom Hanks.
  • In the first Final Destination movie, the main character's birthday is the 25th September. It coincides with the departure time (9:25) and his designated seat (25 I) of the ill-fated flight he was supposed to be on.
  • Jack, a boy who suffers a unique form of Rapid Aging, was born (prematurely) on Halloween.
  • Casino Royale (1967) - archvillain wannabe Woody Allen plots to replace all the world's leaders with his robotic doubles on April Fools Day, his birthday.
  • Identity: A group of seemingly unrelated people are slowly being killed off while trapped at a remote motel during a storm. At one point it's revealed that every single one of them have the same birthday, which simply doesn't seem possible. This is because they're all imaginary identities of a man with multiple personality disorder.
  • According to a Freeze-Frame Bonus in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor's date of birth is February 28th, 1985, a year after a leap year (1984) and the last day of February in non-leap years.
  • Twitches: Alex and Camryn were born on Halloween night.
  • Back to the Future: According to his tombstone in 1985-A in Back to the Future Part II, George McFly was born on April 1, 1938, which is fitting given that George starts out as an Extreme Doormat and Butt-Monkey before his future son Marty helps him grow a spine.
  • Quantum of Solace: James Bond's passport lists his birthdate as April 13, 1968. The first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published on April 13, 1953, exactly 15 years earlier.

    Literature 
  • Parodied in Captain Underpants where fun hating Dean Bitterman, Principal Krup was born on April Fools' Day.
  • Circleverse: Plant mage Rosethorn was born on Longnight, the winter solstice. Ironic because she's a plant mage, and her leafy friends are mostly all asleep on her birthday. She prefers to celebrate at Midsummer instead for this very reason.
  • In The Dark is Rising, Will was born on the winter solstice. He was also born under a caul and is the seventh son of a seventh son. No wonder he ends up saving the world.
  • The Dresden Files:
    • Harry Dresden was born on Halloween. His mother deliberately had him around that time so that he'd be born with the ability to affect Outsiders.
    • Incubus Thomas Raith was born on Valentine's Day.
  • The main character of The Eight by Katherine Neville was born on April 4, which ties in with a lot of the book's numerology and is also said to be an Islamic holy day.
  • Harry Potter:
    • The Weasley twins — who are known for being practical jokers — were born on April Fool's Day.
    • Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr., better known as Voldemort, was born on New Year's Eve.
    • Harry Potter was born on author J.K. Rowling's birthday, July 31st. And there was a prophecy in book 5 that the Messianic Archetype would be born as the seventh month closes. It's stated that it could also have referred to Neville — born on July 30th.
  • In the Horatio Hornblower books, or at least the ones published later, Hornblower was born on July 4, 1776, something which he is occasionally teased about (it otherwise never becomes important). It is worth noting that Hornblower was written to be a man of 20th century sensibilities who is fighting in the Wars of French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, and thus has some opinions that are regarded as a touch "Republicist" by those who he has offended (or who just feel like needling the nervous skinny guy for fun). Mind you, the author, C. S. Forester, an Englishman though born in Egypt, eventually moved to California to stay, and was likely aiming the books at an American audience. Making Hornblower the same age as the U. S. — and why not exactly the same age? — helps fix his place in history in the readers' minds.
  • In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen's birthday falls on May 8, the date most European countries celebrate as the day Germany surrendered and World War II came to an end.
  • James Bond nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld was born on May 28, 1908. So was Bond creator Ian Fleming.
  • Lolita: Dolores Haze was born on January 1st, 1935 — and "Mrs. Richard F. Schiller" died in childbirth on Christmas Day, 1952, a week before her eighteenth birthday. Dolly Haze, whose childhood was stolen from her, never lived to grow up.
  • In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo and Frodo were born on the same day, seventy-eight years apart. This is part of the reason why Bilbo chose his eleventy-first birthday as the day to leave the Shire — it was also Frodo's thirty-third birthday, which meant that he was now old enough to inherit Bag End without the Sacksville-Bagginses being able to contest Bilbo's will on the grounds of Frodo's youth.
  • Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children is about a man who was born on the exact moment of Indian independence — 15 August 1947 at midnight — and who realizes he can communicate telepathically with all the other people in India who were also born on that date.
  • The Messenger Series: It is the age of 13 that makes a person eligible to chosen by Favour, as it is the age of the boy who originally rode him to defeat evil. The chosen will begin to experience strange, inexplicable events in the days and weeks running up to their birthday as a sign of what is to come. The story therefore begins with Rose turning 13 and being chosen by the Great Grey Horse to become the next Messenger.
  • Misery: Annie was born on April Fool's Day.
  • In Something Wicked This Way Comes, the two main characters were born on Halloween and the day after. The day after being All Saints' Day.
  • Till Eulenspiegel: The title character is born on the same day as king Philippe II of Spain. As fate will have it Philippe II of Spain will terrorize the Lower Countries as an adult and the grown up Eulenspiegel will lead the Dutch/Flemish resistance against the Spanish king.

    Live-Action TV 
  • On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anya claims to have been born on the Fourth of July, with her family jokingly calling her their "little patriot." At the moment she's trying to hide the fact that she's a +1,000-year-old ex-demon, however, so it's likely that she just picked that date for convenience.
  • Richard Castle's birthday is April 1, April Fools' Day. In "The Lives of Others", Kate Beckett led Castle's friends and family in pulling off an elaborate Rear Window-themed practical joke as a birthday gift.
  • The Colbert Report: The eagle named after Stephen was born on Patriots' Day. Stephen hopes that this will be a significant birthday and that Stephen jr. will grow up to become the first raptor president.
  • Cold Case: The major suspect in one case claims the victim was planning on leaving her fiancé and running away with him, despite knowing him only a short time. The accompanying flashback has him telling her that he was born on Valentine's Day, so he believes in Love at First Sight and grand romantic gestures. Then the team learns that the victim got teary when February 14 was called in the draft lotto, even though it meant her fiancé was safe. It's the first indication that the suspect is telling the truth.
  • Doctor Who:
    • "A Good Man Goes to War":
      River: It's my birthday.
      • It's also the episode right after Melody's birth. Admit it, you went back to this moment when River's identity was revealed.
    • In "The Snowmen", Clara Oswin Oswald was born 23 November and lived to the age of 26, both matching the original Doctor Who. The present-day Clara Oswald was also born 23 November.
  • In House of Anubis the Chosen One is born on a specific day at a specific time once every 75 years. Joy Mercer was believed to be it because she was born at 7:00 PM on the 7th day of the 7th month But it was really Nina, as she was born on the true 7th hour- 7:00 AM.
    • Sarah Frobisher-Smythe, the former Chosen One, was born on 1:00 on the 1st of January.
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!: In October 2023, Jimmy Kimmel invited Snoop Dogg to the show to celebrate his birthday, and noted that Snoop's birthday, October 20, was precisely 6 months from April 20, as befitting Snoop's reputation as a stoner icon, and humorously declared October 20 "Dogg Father's Day".
  • Money Heist: In the beginning of the Season 2 finale, wherein Moscow's funeral is held by the robbers following his death at the end of the previous episode, it's revealed that he was born on International Labor Day, something Mónica comments on because of him being an ex-laborer.
  • Sense8: A Sensate cluster is always composed of individuals who were born at the exact same moment regardless of their global location. The eight protagonists of the series were all born on August 8, 1988 i.e. 8/8/88.
  • In Supernatural Sam's brother, Dean, and Sam's great love, Jessica Moore, share the same birthday, January 24th. Eric Kripke said the reason for this is "not a creepy, mythology, conspiracy reason. January 24 is my wife's birthday, and it's kinda my valentine to her."
  • That '70s Show: Caroline, Fez's overly-obsessive girlfriend during season 3 was born on May 13, 1960, which was a Friday, meaning she was born on Friday the 13th.
  • On The X-Files, Mulder was born on October 13. While the birth day was chosen because it's also creator Chris Carter's birthday, the year (1961) was likely chosen to make it a Friday the 13th.

    Music 
  • 'Levon', according to Elton John, was 'born to a pauper of a pawn on a Christmas day'. The song is from 1971. Move forward to 2010, and guess who has a son on a Christmas day? Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John. It's unknown if anyone was suggesting that the name be the first one.
  • Gorillaz: Murdoc Niccals is a Satanist and possibly The Antichrist, and was born on June 6, 1966.
  • Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" has the line "My name is No One, the long lost son, born on the Fourth of July" - given it's a Rock Opera about the difficulties of American life, very ironic.
  • Hypnosis Mic: Each Fling Posse member's birthday is a reference to an aspect of their personality and behavior.
    • Ramuda, who usually shows a sweet and carefree attitude, was born on Valentine's Day.
    • Gentaro, who has a tendency to fool people, was born on April 1.
    • Dice, who loves gambling, was born on July 7 (7/7).
  • The Spike Jones song "My Birthday Comes On Christmas" is about a kid's lament over how being born on December 25th means he only gets presents once a year instead of twice.
  • Vocaloid:
    • Most Vocaloids as characters are considered to be born on the day their voice bank released, with a few exceptions. Hatsune Miku's birthday (August 31) is a canonical example of this.
    • Kizuna Akari's character birthday is December 22, the same day her predecessor Yuzuki Yukari was introduced through her Vocaloid and Voiceroid packages in 2011.
  • The five members of the fictional musical group Beatcats are Funny Animal cats, as suggested by the group's name. All of them were born on February 22nd, National Cat Day.

    Roleplay 

    Tabletop Games 
  • Player characters in Spirit of the Century are by default "Centurions", all born on January 1st 1901 because they're in some mystical way connected to and destined to help shape the century to come. Which of course serves mostly as a handy excuse for them to regularly get involved in two-fisted pulp action adventures as members of the Century Club.

    Theatre 
  • The Pirates of Penzance features the character Frederic who was born on February 29th, which causes issues when his apprenticeship is due to end on his "21st birthday".

    Toys 
  • A few characters in the Tamagotchi series have significant birth dates.
    • Mametchi, the Series Mascot, was born on November 23rd, which is when the first Tamagotchi toys were originally released in Japan in 1996.
    • Kuchipatchi, one of Mametchi's friends, has his birthday on May 18th, which is when the original Tamagotchi toys came to the United States in 1997.
    • Himespetchi was born on February 14th (Valentine's Day), and her primary characteristic is that she has a huge crush on Mametchi, especially in the TV show.
    • Lovelitchi's birthday, September 10th, is also the birthday of her voice actress (Kei Shindou) in the 2009 TV show.

    Video Games 
  • BlazBlue loves these:
  • Cookie Run: Dark Enchantress Cookie's birthday is April 30th, known as The Night of Witches in Germany.
  • Angel from the Dance Central series. He's a typical casanova who was born on February 14th.
  • Several characters in Darkstalkers have birthdates that relate to the first supposed sighting of the kind of legendary creature in the real world:
    • Morrigan: Morrigan's date of birth (1678) coincides with the first appearance of a succubus in Scotland.
    • Felicia: She was born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. This is most likely a reference to "Curse of the Catwoman," a poem written circa 1967 by Edward Field.
    • Jon Talbain: His surname sounds similar to "Talbot," the surname of the main character from the 1941 film version of The Wolf Man. Talbain was born in 1940. While the titular Wolfman is named Lawrence (nicknamed "Larry"), the film also depicts his father: Sir John Talbot.
    • Lord Raptor: In 1889, "The Country of the Comers-Back" (aka "Le Pays De Revenants") was an essay depicting zombies published in Harper's Magazine. The character was originally conceived as a dead WWI-era soldier, which made for plot oddities when his story was revised to make him a metal rockstar and thus had him start his human career a few decades too early.
    • Victor: Mary Shelley's famous work, Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus, was originally published in 1818. Its final revision was in 1830, the birth date of Victor. 101 years later, it was adapted into a film for the second time (the first film was made in 1910), which launched the career of Boris Karloff. This is the best-known adaptation.
    • Rikuo: His birth date (1953) coincides with release date of the classic horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). The film is centered on an amphibious creature that besieges anyone foolish enough to go out to sea. The creature was played by actor Ricou Browning.
    • Sasquatch: Whereas the typical yeti/Abominable Snowman/Sasquatch/Bigfoot was originally sighted in 1811, Sasquatch was born in 1903. This was the same date that Western scientists discovered Central Africa's breed of mountain gorillas. That same year, a newspaper printed the testimony of a man who said he watched as a man was killed by aborigines, which he said looked like a black man, but covered all over with gray hair. Concept art for Sasquatch had him originally resembling a gorilla.
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind : The player character's birth date makes them eligible for the Nerevarine Prophecy, however, it's Subverted as the actual date is never revealed.
    "...born on a certain day, to uncertain parents..."
  • The Player Character of Fallout 3 was born on 7/13/2258, a reference to The Bible verse Micah 7:13, "The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of their deeds." It sums up the Fallout universe nicely.
  • In Fatal Fury, Mai Shiranui's birthday falls on January 1 - New Year's Day.
  • Fate/EXTRA: Kiara's birthday is June 4, which might be because it's the Feast Day of St. Saturnina, a legendary Christian virgin martyr.
  • Fire Emblem:
    • Most of the second generation characters in Fire Emblem: Awakening have birthdays that correspond to the release dates of earlier games in the series (in Japan). The one that doesn't, the Avatar's child Morgan, is born on Children's Day.
    • In Fire Emblem Fates, Morgan's Expy, Kana, is born on April 19th; Awakening's release date.
    • In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Shamir's birthday is in March, which the in-universe month is called the "Lone Moon." Also, Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn's birthdays all fall on the in-universe holidays of Saint Seiros Day, Saint Cichol Day, and Saint Cethleann Day respectively. This is because they are one and the same.
  • Genshin Impact:
    • On the first day of each Zodiac sign, there is a character born on that day which reflects that sign. For example: Kokomi, who is associated with fishes, is born on the first day of Pisces.
    • Bennett is notoriously unlucky, and was born on February 29th.
    • Lisa, one of the most fanservicey characters in a game known for its fanservice, was born on June 9th.
    • Yoimiya, called the Queen of Summer Festival, celebrates her birthday on June 21st, the first day of summer.
  • Granblue Fantasy: Djeeta's birthday is stated to be March 10th in Princess Connect, which is the same day Granblue started service.
  • Inazuma Eleven: Endou Mamoru's birthday is on August 22nd, which is the release date of the first game.
  • The Idolmaster:
    • Yukiho Hagiwara's birthday is on Christmas Eve.
    • Cat enthusiast Miku Maekawa's birthday is 2/22 (Cat Day).
    • Teru Tendo was born on February 23, the same day of SideM's pre-registration date. This fits with his status as the Series Mascot for the game.
  • Kunio (of River City Ransom fame) was born on November 27 - the same birthdate as Bruce Lee.
  • Medal of Honor: The protagonist of the first game, Jimmy Patterson, was born on November 11, 1919 — the first anniversary of the end of World War I, also known as Armistice Day (UK/Commonwealth)/Veteran's Day (USA). The protagonist of the second game, Manon Batiste, has May 1, 1912 as her birthday, the traditional beginning of summer and rebirth in the European equinox. Which makes the events of the first mission Midnight Rendezvous all the more painful and tragic.
  • Metal Gear Solid: God is not subtle in the MGS-verse.
    • Otacon's father was born on the day of the Hiroshima bombing. Compounded by his grandfather having been part of the Manhattan Project.
    • Ocelot was born during the invasion of Normandy. As in, his mother gave herself a c-section on the battlefield.
  • The eponymous character of NieR is a Well-Intentioned Extremist willing to go to any lengths to rescue his daughter. Fittingly, his birthday is September 11th.
  • Nanako Dojima from Persona 4's birthday is October 4th. In Persona 3, this was the date Shinjiro killed Ken's mother and the date of his own death two years later.
  • A number of characters in Puyo Puyo were born on some significant date.
    • Amitie was born on May 5th, Children's Day, explaining her cheerful and friendly attitude.
    • Dapper Bones was born on Christmas Eve, which is considered a romantic holiday in Japan. He's a Camp Gay skeleton who is searching for a long-lost lover.
    • Ocean Prince and Serilly were born on March 5th and 12th, respectively. This means both have the zodiac sign Pisces, the fish. Ocean Prince is a minnow while Serilly is a mermaid.
    • Popoi the cat's birthday is February 22nd, Cat Day.
    • Ragnus was born on April Fools' Day, poking fun at how he's a Butt-Monkey.
    • Sig's birth date is June 16, or 6/16; the otherwise normal boy has a demon arm.
    • Witch, a witch, was born on Halloween.
  • In Resonance of Fate, Leanne's birthday is on December 25 - Christmas.
  • Skullgirls:
    • Cerebella's birthday is April 11th - the first release date of the game, on Xbox Live.
    • Valentine's birthday also happens to be December 25th, on Christmas.
    • No-one knows what Double's birthday is.
  • One adaptation of the Sonic The Hedgehog origins had Dr. Robotnik born on the 6th of June, 2006 - 06/06/06.
  • In the Soul Series, Cervantes De Leon is another born on New Year's Day.
  • In Street Fighter, Ken Masters was born on February 14 - Valentine's Day. Appropriately, he is the only character who gets married at the end of Street Fighter II.
  • Twisted Wonderland: Averted; Lilia was born on New Year's Day, but no one makes any mention of this fact, his birthday is treated like any other character's birthday, and New Year event stories run separately without any mention of his birthday.
  • Ichiban Kasuga and Masato Arakawa from Yakuza: Like a Dragon were both born on New Year's Day 1977. It's even more significant in the case of Ichiban, whose name literally means "Number One", thus he's born on 1/1.

    Visual Novels 
  • Danganronpa:
    • Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc:
      • Chihiro Fujisaki was born March 14th aka Pi Day.
      • Kiyotaka Ishimaru was born on August 31st, the last day of school summer vacation in many places, fitting with his extreme dedication to school.
      • In a more ironic take on this, the mastermind was born on Christmas Eve, a day intended to spread hope around the world.
    • Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair:
      • Protagonist Hajime Hinata was born on January 1st aka New Year's Day, "Hajime" means begining.
      • Chiaki Nanami shares her birthday with the aforementioned Chihiro. March 14th is also the White Day, a day where boys will give cookies as a return present for the reciprocated girl's Valentine's Day chocolate, marking Chiaki's role as the main character's Love Interest.
      • Peko Pekoyama was born on June 30th, which is also the birthday of Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon. This is a reference to her Japanese voice actor, Kotono Mitsuishi, who was specifically chosen for Peko due to her previous role as Usagi on the Sailor Moon anime.
      • Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse, was born on May 12th, International Nurses' Day.
      • Nekomaru Nidai was born on February 22nd, Cat Day in Japan, referencing the "Neko" in his name.
      • Sonia Nevermind was born on October 13th, arguably the (second) spookiest day in the same month as Halloween, referencing her fascination with the strange and occult.
      • The Ultimate Lucky Student, Nagito Komaeda, was born on the 28th day of the 4th month. In Japan, the number 4 is considered unlucky because one of its pronunciations (''shi'') is similar to how they would pronounce "death". In China, 8 is considered a lucky number because it is pronounced similar to the word "fortune" (ba or fa); the word is also similar phonetically to the word for a "hundred" (bai), alluding to greater wealth, and the laid down 8 is a symbol of infinity. 28 equates to "double luck", meaning that Nagito's birth month represents his bad luck while his birth day represents the double luck which cancels the aforementioned misfortune.
    • Monaca from Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls was born on April Fools' Day. She "fooled" everyone into believing she was crippled.
    • Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony:
      • Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, was born on April 12th, the International Day of Human Space Flight.
      • The Ultimate Maid Kirumi Tojo's birthday is May 10th, which is also known as Maid Day in Japan.
      • Ultimate Anthropologist Korekiyo Shinguji's birthday is July 31st, sharing with the most famous Japanese anthropologist Kunio Yanagita.
      • The Ultimate Robot K1-B0 was created on October 29th, the Internet's anniversary.
      • Maki Harukawa was born on February 2nd, which is a play on her name. The Setsubun bean-throwing ritual of Mamemaki occurs on this date, which is the last day before spring, or "Haru".
  • Rea Himuro from Dies Irae is born on December 25th, Christmas day as well as the day that the ritual of the Golden Alchemy is to be completed with her as it's sacrificial maiden.
  • Lovestruck:
    • Villainous Nights:
      • Bat's birthday is March 20, which is typically when the March equinox falls — one of the two days of the year when day and night are of equal length, fitting for someone with light and shadow powers.
      • Zeke's birthday is 12/12 — twelve, like the number of hours on a clock, fitting for someone with time powers.
    • Queen of Thieves: Nikolai's profile lists his birthday as February 29th, Leap Day, which emphasizes his exceptionality.
    • Sin With Me: Cal is Irish-American, and his birthday is on St. Patrick's Day.
    • Reigning Passions: The love interests' birth signs reflect things about their characters. Amara (the Wanderer) has been going aimlessly through life. Sevastian (the Betrayer) is weighed upon by the supposed betrayal of his ancestor. Xenia (the Seeker) is a spymaster. Lyris (the Martyr) has a tendency for self-sacrifice.
  • Nasuverse:
    • Touko's birthday is August 8th (8/8) while Aoko's birthday is July 7th (7/7).
    • Fate/stay night:
      • Rin's birthday (2/3) is roughly the beginning of the Holy Grail Wars, or at least the Fifth Holy Grail War.
      • Rin's birthday (February 3rd, 1987) and Sakura's birthday (March 2nd, 1988) are a month, a day, and a year apart (if you go by M/D formatting, the numbers in their birthdays are switched - Rin is 2/3 and Sakura is 3/2).
      • Illya's birthday is November 20, also internationally known as Children's Day.
      • Shinji's birthday is May 5th (5/5), which is Children's Day in Japan.
      • Kirei's birthday is December 28th, a couple of days after Christmas.
    • Fate/Zero:
      • Irisviel's birthday is February 1st. Like Rin, this is roughly the beginning of the Holy Grail Wars, assuming they always start at the beginning of February like the fifth iteration.
      • Kiritsugu's birthday is November 11 (11/11), Veteran's/Armistice Day. Coincidentally(?), this is also Children's Day in Croatia.
    • Tsukihime: Kohaku and Hisui's birthday is March 12, which is 12/3 in D/M formatting.
    • Melty Blood:
      • Nanako was summoned on March 20th (spring equinox) and was sacrificed on June 20th (summer solstice).
      • Len's birthday is September 9 (9/9).
  • Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice's Rayfa Padma Khura'in, who was born on Christmas Eve 2013 (making her one of the only characters in the series to have an exact birthdate).
  • Spirit Hunter: NG:
    • Kaoru is obsessed with the supernatural, and fittingly was born on October 31st.
    • As an Easter Egg, the spirit-hunting protagonist was born in April- specifically, he was born on 4/4.

    Web Animation 
  • AstroLOLogy: While the exact dates are never given, the Western Zodiac characters' birth dates are shown to be in the month where their zodiac symbol begins, so for example Leo's birthday is in July while the Gemini twins' birthday is in May.
  • In Dragon ShortZ (a spinoff of Dragon Ball Z Abridged) Goten is born on Christmas Day, his posthumous father Goku's favorite holiday.
  • RWBY Chibi: Ruby's birthday is officially 31st October (Hallowe'en). It's used in a skit where she takes advantage of her friends because of this, so they end up using Hallowe'en celebrations to get their revenge by forcing her to dress up as a rubbish bin.

    Webcomics 
  • In Eerie Cuties, Nina Delacroix, Layla's younger sister, was born on Easter. As a consequence, unlike the rest of her vampire family, she feeds on chocolate instead of blood. She's still capable of feasting on the latter, mind you; the other reason she doesn't is because her doll Blair is deliberately stunting her growth under the belief that developing a taste for blood could awaken the dormant spirt of an evil vampire queen that he believes she's the reincarnation of.
  • Ramset from Gumball Warrior was born on April 1st. It plays into his nature as being a goofy prankster, as April 1st is a day for pranks and giggles.
  • Homestuck:
    • The protagonist of was born on April 13th or rather, that was the day he rode a meteor in from the Veil, which would be a fairly ordinary day... if the numbers 4/13 didn't keep popping up everywhere. His friends are partial aversions, as they were all born in December... on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th.
    • It turns out that the birth date seems to relate to their patron troll as well. John has Vriska (Scorpio), because 4 + 1 + 3 = 8. Rose has Kanaya (Virgo), as 1 + 2 + 3 = 6, Dave has Terezi (Libra), since 1 + 2 + 4 = 7, and finally Jade has Karkat (Cancer), because 1 + 2 + 1 = 4.
    • Another Arc Number is 6/12. Karkat was born or, again, sent to his planet on the twelfth day of his planet's sixth "month" of the "sweep".
  • The Legend of Genji: Nami was born in the Northern Water Tribe on a winter solstice. In-universe, a solstice is when spirits can exert the most influence over the physical world. Because of this, Nami has powerful spiritual abilities which are difficult for her to control.
  • NEXT!!! Sound of the Future: Invoked; the first generation of Hatsune Miku V4X android units (including main protagonist Shine) were created on August 31st to match up with the anniversary of Hatsune Miku V2’s first press (also matching with the Real Life release dates of the software). Rushing this release date is what caused Shine to be created with a manufacturing error that made her voicebox malfunction.
  • Weak Hero:
    • Gray's birthday is May 15th, or 5/15, which as a number symbolises opportunity and change- the same number is used for Stephen's hospital room, and it's his hospitalisation which provides the catalyst for Gray to become a Bully Hunter.
    • Donald was born on Christmas Eve, and some of his tattoos indicate that he's either Christian or has a religious background.

    Web Original 
  • In Arcana Magi Zero, Alysia Perez and Megumi Miyazaki were both born on February 29th, 2000, which made Megumi wonder if she and Alysia shared a common greater destiny as Guardians of the Gate to the Shrine of Four Mythic Elements.

    Western Animation 
  • In Adventure Time, Finn's birthday is March 14th, Pi Day.
  • Amphibia: One-Eyed Wally was born on the Blue Moon Shut-In; thus, he has to celebrate it alone at home.
  • In The Crumpets, Granny was born on April 1st, 1901. Appropriately, she is a liar and one of the show's biggest jerks.
  • Donald Duck: In the comics, Donald's birthday is Friday the 13th, to emphasize he was Born Unlucky. In animation, his birthdate is July 6th, the day of his debut cartoon The Wise Little Hen.
  • DuckTales (2017): Huey, Dewey and Louie's birthday is April 15th, the day they made their screen debut in the short Donald's Nephews.
  • Gravity Falls: Dipper and Mabel were born on August 31st; reflecting both the end of their summer vacation in the titular town (and, by extension, the end of the show) and the the end of their childhood, the latter being something that Dipper is eager for but which Mabel comes to fear.
  • In Hey Arnold!, Eugene was born on Friday the 13th. Yes, he was literally Born Unlucky.
  • Johnny Bravo was born on February 14th, Valentine's Day. His defining character trait is being flirty and obsessed with finding someone to date.
  • The Looney Tunes Show: In "Best Friends", Bugs' birthday is July 27th, while Daffy's is April 17th; these were the dates they debuted in A Wild Hare and Porky's Duck Hunt, respectively.
  • MeteoHeroes: The protagonists (Andrew, Su, Angelita, Adam, Giorgio and Patty) obtained their super powers on their 10th birthday, their birthdays are all on April 22nd "Day of the Earth" and use their powers to protect the enviroment.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • Spike was born on the day that Rainbow Dash performed her first Sonic Rainboom, which allowed for The Mane Six to earn their Cutie Marks and discover their special talents.
    • Pinkie Pie's birthday is the day after her alligator Gummy's birthday.
    • Rainbow Dash's birthday is also the anniversary of the day she moved to Ponyville, thus Rarity calls it her "birth-iversary".
  • Roger Ramjet was born on April 1st; April Fools' Day.
  • The Simpsons:
    • Bart's birthday also falls on April 1st.
    • Marge's birthday was once mentioned as being the same as Randy Quaid (October 1st), but other episodes have contradicted this; her "canonical" birthday is now the otherwise insignificant March 19.
    • Barney's birthday is mentioned in "Viva Ned Flanders" as being the same as Adolf Hitler (April 20) or Lassie (July 15) depending on the version. note 
  • In The Smurfs (1981), Jokey and Gargamel share the same birthday — Halloween!
  • In the South Park episode "Awesom-O", Butters' birthday is revealed to be 9/11.
  • Star vs. the Forces of Evil: Star Butterfly was born on Stump Day, the Mewni equivalent of Christmas; however, she does not celebrate it that day because it would anger the Stump.
  • Star Wars Rebels has an In-Universe example — Ezra was born on Empire Day 19 BBY, i.e., the exact day that the Galactic Empire was founded.
  • Steven Universe: Steven's birthday is on August 15th, which is the same day as Steven Sugar, the creator's brother, whom Steven is based on and named after.
  • While Spongebob Squarepants is born on July 14th, 1986 (as seen on his driver's license), his voice actor, Tom Kenny, is born on July 13th, 1962, seeing how the latter is older than the former.
  • Voltron: Legendary Defender: Shiro's birthday is February 29th (Leap Day).
  • In Young Justice, Word of God says that some character birthdays are actually just dates of real people whom he knows. Wally seems to be a specific Aversion of this trope: his birthday is November 11, Veteran's Day, which goes unmentioned in the episode about it.

    Others 
  • Dates (and especially months) are so important in SmaPro that the birthdays of the characters are given at the homepage and prominently featured alongside their names. This is because each character represents the month they were born, and as such, they technically all fall under this trope. However, there are a few special ones:
    • Ohshun Setsuki's birthday is New Year's Day.
    • Ninomiya Mashiro's birthday is Valentine's Day, and he secretly dislikes that.
    • Akakuma Nanaya's birthday is the seventh of July, Tanabata.
    • Then there's a few others who have a repetitive birthdate as well, like Badr (8/8) and Juuniya (12/12). Ryusengetsu's birthdate is repetitive as well, but in a different way (11/22).
  • In Sanrio:
    • Kuromi's birthday is October 31, Halloween.
    • Badtz-Maru's birthday is April Fools' Day.

    Real Life 
  • Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa got his name from being born on dragon hour, dragon month and dragon year.
  • For someone born on December 25, every Christmas is your birthday. Isaac Newton (1642), Humphrey Bogart (1899), Rod Serling (1924), Jimmy Buffett (1946) and Annie Lennox (1954) all had this distinction.
  • In an inversion, some notable people have died on Christmas Day: W. C. Fields (1946). Charlie Chaplin (1977), Dean Martin (1995), James Brown (2006), Eartha Kitt (2008), Jason Wingreen (voice actor of Boba Fett) (2015), George Michael (2016) and Lee Mendelson (producer of Peanuts animation, including A Charlie Brown Christmas) (2019). Since Martin ("Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"), Brown ("Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto"), Kitt ("Santa Baby") and Michael ("Last Christmas") all recorded popular Christmas songs, there was added significance for them. Also, veteran character actor Barton MacLane was born on Christmas (1902) and died on New Year's Day (1969).
  • In another inversion, three US Presidents, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe (the 2nd, 3rd and 5th, respectively), all died on July 4th (Adams and Jefferson on the same July 4th, even), while a fourth (Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President) was born on that date.
  • Metal guitar virtuoso Steve Vai was born on June 6, 1960 (6-6-60). May explain where he got his near-otherworldly skills...
  • Princess Beatrice of York (granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II) was born on August 8, 1988 (8-8-88). So was Italian basketball player Danilo Gallinari, to the point where he wears #8.
  • Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic was indeed born on July 4, 1946.
  • Muppeteer Steve Whitmire, who succeeded Jim Henson as the performer of Kermit the Frog for many years, was born on September 24, 1959 — which happened to be Henson's 23rd birthday.
  • Similarly, Molly Ringwald was born on February 18, 1968, which was the day John Hughes turned 18.
  • Physicist Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 - three hundred years to the day after the death of astronomer Galileo Galilei. And inverted with his death date, March 14, 2018 which was Albert Einstein's birthday and Pi Day.
  • Squick to anyone born exactly 9 months after a parent's birthday or anniversary.
  • Gioachino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792, something pianist and comedian Victor Borge saw as evidence of the composer's laziness - he only had to celebrate his birthday every four years!
  • Andy Kaufman was born January 17, 1949. Jim Carrey, who played Kaufman in Man on the Moon, was born January 17, 1962. (One TV ad for the movie even pointed this out.)
  • Astronaut Ken Mattingly was born in Chicago on March 17, 1936. Gary Sinise, who played Mattingly in Apollo 13 was born March 17, 1955...also in Chicago.
  • Christian Bale (January 30, 1974) played former Vice President Dick Cheney (January 30, 1941) in Vice (2018).
  • Retired Buffalo Bills Quarterback Jim Kelly (February 14, 1960) and his son, Hunter (February 14, 1997).
  • Elvis Presley and David Bowie, two of the most famous Real Life examples of The Rock Star, share a birthday — January 8th (1935 and 1947, respectively). Bowie has joked about his birthday getting stuck in the shadow of Presley's.
  • If we also included significant birth weeks in this trope in regads to date proximity, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy would certainly fit. They were born four days apart in March 1931 (Shatner on the 22nd, Nimoy on the 26th).
  • Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor), Sophie Aldred (his companion Ace), and Anthony Ainley (the Master) were all born on the 20th of August, in 1943, 1962, and 1932, respectively. The three of them would go on to star together in the last story of Doctor Who's original series, "Survival".
  • Novelist Emily Brontë, famous for Wuthering Heights, was born on July 30, 1818. Pop singer Kate Bush was born on July 30, 1958, and would later write a hit song called "Wuthering Heights".
  • John Lennon (October 9, 1940) and his son, Sean (October 9, 1975). John considered 9 his lucky number, which explains composition titles like "Revolution 9" and "#9 Dream".
  • Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889. Adolf Hitler was born four days later on April 20. Even in the 1930s people found it funny that both men had the same toothbrush moustache and looked similar. Chaplin would later satirize Hitler in The Great Dictator. It doesn't help that April 20 is also International Weed Day and the day of the Columbine shootings. note 
  • Stan Laurel (Laurel and Hardy) was born on June 16, 1890. This makes him a Gemini (the "twins" sign), which is fitting for half of the most famous comedic duo in the world.
  • Classic horror film legends Vincent Price and Christopher Lee were both born on May 27th (Price in 1911, Lee in 1922). Lee's fellow Hammer Horror film star Peter Cushing was born on May 26th (in 1913). Additionally, Lee was born a day after the 25th anniversary of the original publication of Dracula, which was one of his most famous roles.
  • Comedian Brian Doyle-Murray was born on Halloween 1945, exactly three weeks after the Chicago Cubs lost the World Series for the last time, not making any further appearances until 2016, when they beat the Cleveland Indians. Doyle-Murray once compared his situation to that of Mark Twain, who famously was born and died around appearances put in by Halley's Comet, and joked that he would die the year the Cubs next made it to the World Series and also about having a deal with God regarding that that he'd get to stick around for the Series itself. (He is still alive in 2021, just over four years after the Cubs won the World Series.)
  • Actress Mackenzie Davis' date of birth is April Fools' Day 1987; other people who are April Fools Day babies include Debbie Reynolds, Asa Butterfield and Ali MacGraw.
  • Many people have died on their own birthdays. Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII, was born on February 11, 1466 and died on February 11, 1503. William Shakespeare was (probably) born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616.note  Ingrid Bergman was born on August 29, 1915 and died on August 29, 1982. Merle Haggard was born on April 6, 1937 and died on April 6, 2016.
  • In terms of sharing birthdays, it should be noted that statistically speaking, there is a 50/50 chance that a random group of twenty-three people will have at least two people who share a birthday. Increase the size of the group to 75, and the odds increase to 99.9% note 
  • Averted (sort of) in real life, data on the average number of births per day in the UK showed that the average number of births per day was generally lower on special occasions than on normal days. In particular, the number of births on New Year's Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day was hugely decreased compared to the average. This was probably because these are the only bank holidays which occur on a specific date each year, and hospitals usually don't schedule caesareans and induced births for bank holidays. The number of births on April Fool's Day and Christmas Eve were also both lower than average.
  • Jeff Goldblum's first son, Charlie Ocean, was born on July 4, 2015 — fitting for the son of one of the leads of Independence Day! In the runup to the sequel's release Conan O'Brien said "That's fantastic: You had a son to promote the movie you were coming out with a year later!"
  • The first two Sōkantoku note  of AKB48 Takahashi Minami and Yokoyama Yui birthday's share some significant birthday. Takahashi Minami was born in April 8, 1991 (4/8) and admittedly was one of the reason she passed the 1st generation audition, while Yokoyama Yui was born in December 8, 1991 with December 8th is when the group making their debut in 2005.
  • New Year's Day is a surprisingly common birth date for people involved in the creation of institutions or "pioneers" of some sort. Huldrych Zwingli (one of the early leaders of The Protestant Reformation), icons of The American Revolution Paul Revere and Betsy Ross, Pierre de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympic Games), J. Edgar Hoover (first FBI director) and Grandmaster Flash (Hip-Hop pioneer) all shared the 1st of January as birthdays.
  • Pamela Anderson already appeared in Canadian newspapers right after her birth because she was born exactly 100 years after the formation of the Dominion of Canada at 12:01 a.m. and therefore became Canada's "centennial baby".

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