This month, both Makenzie Crosby and her son will turn 11.

Seem impossible? That’s because Crosby, a Zions Bank retail support teller, was born on Feb. 29 — also known as Leap Year Day — which means that she’s technically had only 11 birthdays since 1980.

Roughly every four years, we add an extra day to the calendar — Feb. 29 — to ensure that it stays in line with the Earth’s movement around the sun, according to History.com

The odds of being born on Leap Year Day are low — about 1 in 1,461 — and there are just 5 million people worldwide with this birthday. Three of them work at Zions Bank, and we spoke to them to learn more about the perks and pitfalls of being a “leapling.”

Having this rare birthday — shared by motivational speaker Tony Robbins, rapper Ja Rule and actor Antonio Sabato Jr. — is typically pretty fun, Crosby says, but there are times when it’s a hassle, such as filling out an application for a credit card on a non-Leap Year and her birthdate isn’t found.

The mother of six says she’s been the same age as all of her kids at some point. And typically, she celebrates her every-four-years-birthday like a kid, too.

“We always do an age-appropriate party,” Crosby says. “I asked my husband if we can go to the trampoline park this year.”

Her children delight in giving her husband a hard time, saying things like “Mom’s turning 11. You married a minor. You’re going to jail.”

For Washington Branch Client Service Associate Elias Mesa Cruz, issues sometimes arise when he’s asked to show proof of his age. “They look at it and think it’s a fake ID,” he explains. “One time I had to show the person the date on the calendar back in 1996. And when I made my Facebook profile, it wouldn’t take the 29^th.”

In non-Leap Years, Cruz says he would typically celebrate his birthday on Feb. 28. “It did feel weird celebrating on a different day,” he says. “When I actually had a birthday my parents would go bigger.”

Mostly, he says it’s entertaining. “It’s always fun telling people how old you are,” he says. “I’m turning 7 this year.”

For Orem/Wasatch Branch Service Manager Blake Demartini, his Leap Year birthday has been more of an inconvenience than a massive issue. 

He says that a lot of people don’t believe he was born on Leap Year Day, or they think it’s every three years. “Growing up I was really mad that I was born on Leap Year because I only have a birthday every four years,” he says.

“I tend to use it more as a joke to mess with other people,” says Demartini, who was born in 2000 and will celebrate his 6^th birthday on Feb. 29. “A fun fact that I always say is that I’m the oldest and the youngest cousin since I’m the first born on my dad’s side.”

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