# How much age difference between you and your next closest sibling? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749 "2012-08-26T20:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/61 "2012-08-27T15:51:08Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > I have two older sisters: one is seven years older than me, the other ten years. > > I was an accident apparently 😃 Well, you could change your screen name to [Broken Rubber](http://www.fropki.com/broken-rubber-vt11478.html)… ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/62 "2012-08-27T16:30:48Z")
My only sibling is 18 years, 29 days younger than I. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/63 "2012-08-27T19:05:15Z")
My brother is 5 years younger than me, then another 5 years to my sister and 7 years to my youngest brother. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/64 "2012-08-27T20:21:35Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > If we’re doing administrations: I was born under the Curtin adminstration; my brother was born 28 months later under the Attlee adminstration (in a different country, of course). I said Eisenhower administration because I was born in 1959 and my sister in 1960, so it’s a time period that covers both years. If it’d been in the same decade, though, I would’ve just said the decade. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/65 "2012-08-27T22:31:51Z")
I’m #2 of 6. 1. Older sis 2. after 15 mos came me. 3. 4 years later comes little sis 4. 2 years after that is another little sis 5. 6 years later came final little sister x 2 with a set of twins. I was 13 when they were born. That final try for a boy really bit 'em in the ass, eh? ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/66 "2012-08-27T22:42:57Z")
11 years. I have one sibling, my sister. My parents are actually still married to each other. And we were both surprises. Okay, I get it when you’re nineteen…but when you’re 31? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/67 "2012-08-27T23:27:41Z")
Including my adopted sister, 3.5 years. Not including, 7 years. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/68 "2012-08-27T23:29:59Z")
3 years. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/69 "2012-08-27T23:45:59Z")
Thirteen months older and thirteen months younger. My parents (Mom’s Catholic) had six kids in 5.5 years (no twins) during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. They also raised a cousin as their own and took in a foster son when he was a teen. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/70 "2012-08-27T23:54:15Z")
I’m the youngest of three, 2 years and 11 months younger than my brother to the day. He’s two years, ten months, and three weeks younger than my big sister. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/71 "2012-08-27T23:56:30Z")
3.22739726027 years here ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/72 "2012-08-28T00:10:13Z")
my siblings an I are: 20 months, 22 months, 7.5 years. ('69, '71, '73 and '81) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/73 "2012-08-28T01:35:49Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Most are answering \> 3 years, the demographics of the SDMB are interesting. I’m not sure what’s surprising. Most parents don’t have one baby/year then quit. Again, I’m at the contrary surprised that the OP allowed several answers for a difference of less than 3 years, and only one for 3+ years. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/74 "2012-08-28T01:37:04Z")
3+ spread is airily common. Many of our friends had kids three years apart. Ore common than less than three. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/75 "2012-08-28T01:51:14Z")
Ten kids in our family, Spaced out evenly over twenty years. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/76 "2012-08-28T02:29:38Z")
Older brother to me - 3 years 4 months Me to younger brother - 2 years 5 months There are four of us, total, and since I managed to come along just ahead of the school cutoff, we were three years apart in school. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/77 "2012-08-28T02:45:19Z")
I have a brother who is a week shy of 26 months older than me and a sister who is 5 years and a few days younger, which places me in the relatively uncommon category of 2-2.5 years (if not as much as the 3+ year category; less than 1 year is also more that I would expect given that at least 9 months are needed between births). ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/78 "2012-08-28T03:47:45Z")
I have two sisters, 5 1/2 and 7 1/2 years younger than I. The baby was unplanned. 🙂 ETA: I’m an 80s baby and they are 90s babies. Spacing of 3-6 years is quite common in the rest of my family and among most people I know. The only people I know who have 2 kids in less than 4 years are quite religious and/or passionate for some reason about close spacing. I am close with each of them but they have never liked each other much and barely speak these days, they’ve never even had a mutual friend their whole lives… Sibling relations are mostly to do with personality IMO, closer spacing does not guarantee any sort of friendship. I’ve done a lot of childcare, and I’ve always known I’d like my own kids to be 3+ years apart - I don’t want two babies in diapers at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/79 "2012-08-28T06:27:44Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > There are 4 of us born within 5-1/3 years. There were four of us born within three years and nine months, with no twins or triplets. And a miscarriage the previous year. My younger brother is more than 5 years younger, though. Mormon, in the early 60s, funny you would ask. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749/80 "2012-08-28T16:21:06Z")
My sister and I were born 19 months apart when my parents were WAY too young to be having kids. Then there was a stillborn 3 years later due to a form of Brittle Bone believed at the time to be genetic. So no more kids for another 3 years, when my parents decided to have 4 more a year or two apart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-age-difference-between-you-and-your-next-closest-sibling/632749.md?page=5)