As the world celebrates 2024’s leap day, sophomores Emma Brooks and Emma Villanueva celebrate their 4th birthday sharing a first name and the rarest birthday in the world; Feb 29.

“It’s a day everyone knows,” Villanueva said. “It’s nice that people recognize it.”

Since their birthday only occurs every four years, Brooks and Villanueva typically choose a different day to celebrate. While Villanueva chooses March 1. Brooks chooses Feb. 28.

“I picked [Feb. 28] because it’s still within the same month as my birthday,” Brooks said. “I feel like if I celebrated March 1, it just wouldn’t be the same.”

Brooks typically celebrates her birthday by going out to dinner with her family and sometimes friends, but this year she’s having a sweet 16 party.

“We’ve rented out a venue and invited a bunch of my friends, family and soccer team,” Brooks said. “It’s special because I get an actual birthday this year, and it falls on my 16th birthday.”

Although Brooks and Villanueva are turning 16, this is only the fourth year they’ve had their real birthday. Some people born on Feb. 29 only count their birthdays every four years. Neither Brooks nor Villanueva do this but if they did they’d just now be turning four.

“People ask me, ‘how old are you really?” Brooks said. “I think it’s pretty funny.”

While Villanueva’s family knew beforehand that there was a chance she’d be born on Feb. 29, Brooks’s family had no idea because she was born prematurely.

“I wasn’t due until April,” Brooks said. “My family all thought it was a big coincidence.”

Only about 5 million people have Feb. 29 birthdays, less than 0.1% of the world’s population, meaning Brooks and Villanueva’s had a 1 in 1,461 chance of being born on the leap day.

“I feel lucky,” Villanueva said. “But at the same time, everyone else gets their birthday every year. I’m just watching, and it’s kind of sad.”