How to Find Someone's Birthday

Ask about their half-birthday (six months before their actual birthday). The trick here is to discuss the half-birthday. Tell your friend that your half-birthday is coming up and ask them about theirs. Then, you can calculate their actual birthday from there. This method allows you to get the information indirectly without being too obvious. It's as easy as pie!

Ask them to describe their favorite birthday. Casually inquire about their most memorable birthday celebration. Ask how it went and see if you can deduce the time of year from the context, such as the weather, the season they mention, an upcoming holiday, or even if it was hot or snowy. This might jog your memory.

Talk generally about birthdays. Bring up your birthday naturally and observe if they reveal anything about theirs. You could say, “Hey, I hate having a summer birthday. No one’s around to celebrate with me!” or “I love having a birthday in March. It gives me something to look forward to during the bad weather.”

• You could also say things like, “My birthday is just a month away” or even “My half-birthday is just a few weeks away.” To see if they engage, ask when their birthday is.
• Try asking them about their zodiac sign. Say something like, “I’m an Aries, so I’m pretty sensitive. What’s your sign?”

Look for the gemstone associated with their birth month. Some girls enjoy wearing jewelry with their birthstone; for example, Opal represents October. If a girl is wearing jewelry with her birthstone, you could ask, “Is this your birthstone? What is it?” If it’s her birthstone, she’ll tell you, and you’ll know her birth month. If not, she might give you a hint by saying, “No, it’s not. My birthstone is emerald.”

Ask a mutual friend or relative. If you and the person whose birthday you’re trying to find share a mutual friend, you can ask them. If they don’t know, ask them to help you find out. You don’t need to feel embarrassed about it. Just explain that you forgot their birthday and feel bad about it. You don’t have to be sneaky to get the answer.

Check their Facebook profile. The easiest way is to see if they’ve listed their birthday on Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, log in and search for the person you’re looking for. When you visit their profile, click on the “About” section below their profile picture.

• If they’ve shared their birthday, it will appear under the “Basic Info” section. Note that you might need to be friends with them to see this information.
• Many people only share their birth date, not the year. If you’re looking for their birth year, this method might not be very helpful.

Dig deeper on Facebook. Scroll through their timeline to see if there’s a day when their profile is flooded with “Happy Birthday!” messages. If you find such posts, it’s likely their actual birthday.

• Check their photos. Look for any birthday celebration pictures. While these might not give you the exact date, they can help narrow it down.

Use other social media platforms. If Facebook doesn’t help, try other platforms where the person might have shared their information, such as blogs or profiles. Other social media sites might display their birthday, or you can find clues in posts, tweets, or photos. Check the following platforms to see if you get lucky:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Personal websites or blogs
• Tumblr

Use online databases. There are many free databases you can try. For this method, you’ll generally need their full name and approximate age. You might find multiple people with the same name, so knowing their location is helpful, especially if their name is common.

• Start by searching on the Birthday Database or other free databases like Anybirthday or Zabasearch. If you know their name and approximate age, these sites might return a birth date, though accuracy can vary.

Sneak a peek at a friend’s calendar. Most people don’t note their own birthdays on their calendars, but their friends often do. Check their friend’s calendar for entries like "Hiep’s Birthday" or "Birthday Party!"

Check your phone for old "Happy Birthday" messages. If you’ve known them since their last birthday, you might have sent them a birthday message. Scroll through your chat history to see if you can find any birthday-related exchanges. If you do, you’ll know their exact birthday. Great detective work!

• Check their phone too. If you want to look without being intrusive, you could say, “Hey, can I check your calendar? I need to verify something.”

Review your credit card history. If you bought them a gift last year, took them out to dinner, or paid for a gift with your credit card, you can check your bank statements for the payment date. While you’ll need to remember what you bought or where you went, it can help you pinpoint their birthday.

• Keep in mind that you might not have made the purchase or taken them out on their exact birthday, but it’ll get you closer.

Consider checking all basic information. If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, you might opt for paid services to access their personal details. Websites like publicbackgroundchecks charge a small fee for specific information. Alternatively, more detailed sites like Government-records.com might require a monthly subscription.

• Just ensure the service is legitimate before paying. Weigh whether this is a reasonable option or if you should just ask them directly.