Birthdays in any family are extra-special. They are made even more special if family members have a unique birthday — perhaps they share the same birthday with a sibling or parent, or their birth date consists of the same numbers. But what are the chances for a whole family to have similarly unique birth dates? One Singaporean family of six with perhaps some of the least common birthdays we’ve ever heard of, share their story.
Least common birthdays: Singaporean family of six has unique birth dates
The Loke family’s birthdays are certainly unique: everyone in their family of six have birthdays with the same day and month!
To put things in perspective:
- 40-year-old Mr Shamen Loke’s birthday is on January 1 (01/01);
- his wife, 39-year-old Madam Yau Mei Siong’s birthday is on September 9 (09/09);
- seven-year-old Lucius’s birthday is on June 6 (06/06);
- four-year-old Andrius celebrates his birthday on January 1 (01/01);
- two-year-old Justinius, was born on the 4th of April (04/04), and
- One-month-old Kaius, the family’s newest member, has his birthday on October 10 (10/10).
All Mr and Mrs Loke’s children were born naturally, meaning those birth dates weren’t pre-planned to fall on those dates, say Mr and Mrs Loke.
“It is truly a blessing. Each one of them is a godsend,” says Mr Loke, who named all his boys.
Least common birthdays: the Loke family, with birth dates made from repeating numbers. From left to right: Lucius Loke, Andrius Loke, Kaius Loke, Madam Yau Mei Siong, Mr Shamen Loke and Justinius Loke.
“Fingers crossed for October 10”
Mr Loke says that his sons – Lucius, Andrius, Justinius and Kaius – were named after the Latin words for light, courage, justice and joy, respectively.
But the couple, who are both civil servants, very nearly missed the perfect record.
Apparently, baby Kaius’s due date was predicted to be October 13, says Mr Loke. Furthermore, he admits that they “not planned for a fourth child” and once they were aware about Kaius’s arrival, the couple ” didn’t expect the date to be Oct 10″.
However, the couple did feel that “it would be a bonus if it happened”. The critical thing, Mr Loke pointed out, was that “both baby and mother are safe and sound.”
Looking back, Madam Yau joked that the chance delivery was “better than winning the lottery” when contractions began three days prior to Kaius’s due date.
“I was not very confident of making the date. As the date drew closer, people around us kept their fingers crossed,” says Madam Yau.
So does this family use their string of “lucky birth-dates” to try and win the lottery? Mr Loke’s dad has, in fact, struck the winning lottery using ‘1199’ – the two ‘1’s from Mr Loke’s birth date and the two ‘9’s from his wife’s!
According to Madam Yau, since the birth of their eldest son, the couple’s family and friends began predicting the birth dates of her following pregnancies.
Her two older sons, who knew their special birth dates, would also encourage baby Kaius “to come out on October 10” each night while Madam Yau was pregnant with him.
Still, Madam Yau adds that she didn’t do anything to influence the birth dates. She is confident that her boys “chose” their unique birth dates on their own.
“We hope it will be a story that they can tell their children and grandchildren in future,” says Madam Yau.
No intention of expanding the family with more kids
Ben Neo, Madam Yau’s gynaecologist in the Ben Neo Clinic for Women, who helped to give birth to all of the Mr Loke’s children, says the Lokes have been the first case he’s seen in his practice.
“It is unique that all six members of the family have such birth dates,” says Dr Neo.
With baby Kaius delivered, Mr Loke isn’t planning to expand the family’s unique pattern of repeating birth dates with additional children.
At times, Mr Loke says he does wonder about what life would be like if he had a daughter instead, asking himself questions like “How would my daughter look like if I had one? How different would I be as a father if I had a daughter?”
Ideally, Mr Loke still wants more kids. However, realistically, he admits that it would be difficult “considering our ages, finances and time”.
The couple first encountered each other as undergraduate students in the National University of Singapore (NUS). While they were dating, they did chat about their special birth dates.
Eventually, they got married in 2006.
The family’s car, a white Toyota Estima, shared the same licence plate number as their two former cars: ‘1199’.
“Do you buy 4D? No, my best prize is at home,” says Mr Loke
A happy family is so much more important than winning the lottery! | Image Source: Stock Photo
Madam Yau’s kids’ birth dates have become an unexpectedly popular topic to start conversations.
She says that completing registration forms in clinics and pre-schools usually roused people’s attention to her children’s unique birth dates. Additionally, people were also “in awe or amazed” upon learning that all her children were delivered naturally.
The family’s special birth dates makes it very easy for family members to remember their birthdays, chuckles Madam Yau.
Mr Loke agrees, too, confessing that he could never forget his children or wife’s birthdays.
“People close to us think we are special and must have been greatly blessed to have these birth dates,” says Madam Yau.
And Mr Loke doesn’t need anyone to tell him that. He regards his family as “his greatest achievement”, saying that he feels “lucky and contented” the moment he returns home and sees his family.
“People often ask me whether I buy 4D, but I tell them no, I already have the best prize at home,” says Mr Loke.
Here at theAsianparent, we wish this wonderful family all the very best!
References: The Straits Times, Images: ST screengrabs.