South Jersey twin boys born in different years are among Philly area’s 2024 New Year’s babies

Twin brothers Ezra and Ezekiel Humphrey of Merchantville have the rare fortune of being born not only on different days, but in different years.

Ezra was born at 11:48 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2023, and Ezekiel was born at 12:28 a.m. on Jan. 1, at Virtua Voorhees Hospital. That made Ezekiel one of the first Philly-area babies born in 2024, and Ezra one of the last in 2023.

The first newborn in the region this year appears to be a baby born at Crozer-Chester Medical Center at 12:02 a.m. on Jan. 1, according to a spokesperson for the hospital. The family declined to share personal details.

A close second was Matias, whose parents Julissa Jose-Holguin and Miguel Hidalgo welcomed him at 12:03 a.m. at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ezra and Ezekiel may not have to share a birthday with each other, but the twins were born into a 30-day window that also includes the birthdays of their mother, father, and older brother, as well as their parents’ wedding anniversary.

The twins’ father, Billy Humphrey, 36, said he had hoped the babies would be born during that time frame, even though they were due Jan. 26.

The family’s festive month starts Dec. 7 with the birthday of mom Eve Humphrey, 34, followed by the couple’s anniversary on Dec. 12. Billy’s birthday is Dec. 31, and on Jan. 3, their first child, Hezekiah, will turn 3 years old.

“The morning of my birthday my wife woke me up and said, ‘Hey, happy birthday my water broke,’” Billy said, so they immediately went to the hospital. “When we got to the hospital, I said to the nurses and my wife that it would be really cool if they had different birthdays to celebrate.”

Billy hadn’t made any special birthday plans for himself, knowing the babies could arrive any day. About half of all twin pregnancies result in births at least three weeks before the due date, and Hezekiah was also born about five weeks early in 2021.

Now, Billy said he’s glad to cede his own birthday to the older of his twin boys. “I guess I’ll just have to hold onto Father’s Day,” he said.

The family is looking forward to making a monthlong celebration out of their birthdays, anniversaries, and the holidays for years to come.

“We’ll just turn it into a whole festival,” Billy said. “We’ve thought about maybe taking some big trips that time of year or coming up with some traditions for our family.”

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Ezekiel’s name. The error has been corrected.