15 baby names that are perfect for leap year babies
All birthdays are special, but leap year babies have the distinction of being a little rarer than most.
Only occurring every four years (mostly … read on for more info about that fun fact) leap years are a special time where we get one extra day in the year, February 29th. Check your calendars, this year is a leap year!
If you’re expecting your little one to arrive any time this year, particularly February 29th, you’ll want a name that symbolises just how rare and precious they are, and we’ve found the perfect baby name that do just that in the gallery below.
What is a leap year?
A leap year occurs every four years … usually. There are a couple of exceptions.
Why four years? It takes approximately 365.25 days for Earth to orbit the Sun, that’s called a solar year.
Back in Julius Ceasar’s day, it was decided that because we usually round the days in a calendar year to 365, we’d need to make up for the missing partial day. To do that we add one day to our calendar approximately every four years. When that occurs it is called a leap year.
The extra day is added to the end of February. This year, 2024 is a leap year and if you check your calendar you will see that February has 29 days, instead of the usual 28.
What are the leap year exceptions?
While it’s true that leap years usually occur every 4 years, if any year is divisible evenly by 100 (think years like 1700, 1800, 1900) then a leap year is skipped. But not all years that are divisible by 100 are skipped. Confused yet?
There’s also another maths-sounding rule to consider and it has to do with years that can be divided evenly by 100 and by 400 (think 2000). These types of years are called century leap years and will have the extra day like a regular leap year. The next century leap year will occur in the year 2400.
Can you see why we say babies born in a leap year are special now? To celebrate that uniqueness, we’re sharing some baby names that are perfect for little ones who make their arrival on one of these very rare years in the gallery below.
Adorable leap year baby names and their meanings
Love the name you’ve chosen? You can find adorable personalised baby toys and nursery products at Hard to Find!
This sweet name has Arabic origins meaning “first leap”.
With Hindu origins, Anoki means “unique” just like your leap year babe.
“God of the Sun” Apollo is a perfect fit for a leap year born babe.
Berezi has Basque origins meaning “special”.
The expression once in a Blue moon makes this colour name perfect for a leap year babe.
Responsible for the concept of leap years, Julius Caesar gets a little nod with this clever name.
Delta has ties to the number four, representing the fourth letter of the alphabet. A perfect nod to a leap year babe.
With Turkish origins, Ender means “very rare”.
IV is the Roman numeral for four, and when sounded out we get the sweet nature name, Ivy.
A simple nod to the man responsible for leap years, Julius Caesar.
Kito has Swahili origins meaning “precious”.
With Arabic origins, Nadira means “precious” or “scarce”.
A clever nod to Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire who are responsible for the calendar as we know it today.
With French origins meaning “sun” Soleil is perfect for a leap year babe.
With Greek origins meaning “four”, Tetra makes a lot of sense as a let year name.
