58 birthday trivia questions

Two kinds of rounds for a birthday party. For the guessing round, the birthday person writes their answers before the party, the host reads each question and guests write a guess; most right wins. The five fact rounds, from the Happy Birthday song to birthstones, work for any birthday, and every fact answer links to its source.

58 questions · Birthday trivia questions · answers included

Updated 28 Oct 2026

About the birthday person

1
What is the birthday person's favorite food?
2
What kind of cake would they pick for their birthday?
3
What is their usual order at a coffee shop?
4
Where would they go on a dream trip?
5
What was the first concert they went to?
6
What was their nickname as a kid?
7
Which birthday has been their best one so far?
8
What did they want to be when they grew up?
9
What was their favorite toy as a child?
10
What movie could they watch again and again?
11
Which song do they always sing along to in the car?
12
What is their favorite holiday?
13
How would they spend a perfect day off?
14
If they could have one superpower, what would it be?
15
Which famous person would they most like to have dinner with?

The Happy Birthday song

16
Which pair of American sisters is traditionally credited with the tune of "Happy Birthday to You"?

easy

Answer
Patty and Mildred J. Hill.
The older sister wrote the melody and the younger one wrote the words.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
17
In Britain and Australia, what cheer do guests often shout right after the song?

easy

Answer
Hip hip hooray.
In parts of the US and Canada, kids often follow the song by singing "How old are you now?"
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
18
The birthday tune was first sung with different words. What was that earlier song called?

medium

Answer
"Good Morning to All."
The sisters wanted a song that young children would find easy to sing.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
19
The sisters wrote the tune while teaching at a kindergarten school in which Kentucky city?

medium

Answer
Louisville.
They published it in an 1893 songbook with a Chicago publisher.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildred_J._Hill?oldid=1381234601
20
The 1998 Guinness World Records named Happy Birthday the most recognized song in English. Which song came second?

medium

Answer
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."
The birthday song's words have been translated into at least 18 languages.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
21
In which year did a US court declare the song to be in the public domain?

medium

Answer
2016.
In the European Union, its copyright ran out on January 1, 2017.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
22
Which music company collected fees for the song for years, until a court ruled its copyright claim invalid?

hard

Answer
Warner Chappell Music.
Before the lawsuit, the song earned it about $2 million a year.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
23
In the settlement, how much did the company agree to pay back in licensing fees?

hard

Answer
$14 million.
The case was started by a filmmaker who had paid $1,500 to use the song in a documentary.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043
24
Before the court case, until what year did the company claim the song's US copyright would last?

hard

Answer
2030.
In February 2010, a single use of the song cost $700.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You?oldid=1382384043

Cakes, candles and parties

25
By tradition, what must the birthday person do for their wish to come true?

easy

Answer
Blow out the candles in one breath.
In many cultures, the wish must also be kept secret.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday?oldid=1376612893
26
In English-speaking countries, a cake sometimes gets one extra candle. What is it for?

medium

Answer
Luck.
Candles shaped like the digits of the age are a popular alternative.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
27
One theory says early Greeks lit candles to honor the birth of which goddess?

medium

Answer
Artemis.
They honored her birth on the sixth day of every lunar month.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
28
In which country had the custom of a birthday cake with candles begun by the 18th century?

medium

Answer
Germany.
Fancy layered cakes were only for the very wealthy until the Industrial Revolution.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
29
Candles on birthday cakes can be traced to which 18th-century birthday celebration for children?

hard

Answer
Kinderfest.
Guests brought good wishes instead of gifts.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
30
Cakes for special birthdays in ancient Rome were sweetened with what?

hard

Answer
Honey.
They were rings of flour and nuts, raised with yeast.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
31
The cone-shaped paper party hat has its origins in which old classroom hat?

medium

Answer
The dunce cap.
The long elastic string under the chin keeps it on.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_hat?oldid=1382261050
32
The Spanish word piñata probably comes from an Italian word meaning what?

hard

Answer
A fragile pot.
Early piñatas in Spain were plain clay containers, later decorated with ribbons, tinsel and colored paper.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C3%B1ata?oldid=1319431009
33
How many points does a traditional Mexican star piñata have?

medium

Answer
7.
Each blindfolded player's turn lasts as long as a traditional song.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C3%B1ata?oldid=1319431009

Birthdays around the world

34
A quinceañera celebrates a girl's birthday at what age?

easy

Answer
15.
Immigrants brought the custom to the United States in the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era?oldid=1382262825
35
Sweet sixteen parties are mainly a custom in which two countries?

easy

Answer
The United States and Canada.
Sixteen is the age when many people learn to drive.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_sixteen_(birthday)?oldid=1369799539
36
In the shoe ceremony at a sweet sixteen, the birthday girl swaps her flat shoes for what?

medium

Answer
High heels.
In a tiara ceremony, her mother or another important woman places a tiara on her head.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_sixteen_(birthday)?oldid=1369799539
37
What is the Korean party for a baby's first birthday called?

medium

Answer
Doljanchi, or dol.
A traditional gift is a ring of solid gold.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doljanchi?oldid=1350643665
38
Why is the table at a traditional Korean first birthday party round?

hard

Answer
To avoid having corners that the child can bump into.
Whichever object the baby picks up first from the table is said to show where their luck lies.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doljanchi?oldid=1350643665
39
What are yi mein noodles called when they are eaten on a Chinese birthday?

medium

Answer
Longevity noodles, or long-life noodles.
Yi mein are flat Cantonese egg noodles, golden brown and chewy.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_mein?oldid=1355413913
40
A Chinese birthday bun called shòu bāo is shaped and colored to look like which fruit?

medium

Answer
A peach.
It is a wheat bun with a sweet lotus paste filling.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
41
In Denmark, what is the birthday cake called kagemand shaped like?

medium

Answer
A person.
Its candy and little Danish flags stand for the person being celebrated.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_cake?oldid=1381266139
42
In the Philippines, what is the coming-of-age party for a young woman's 18th birthday called?

hard

Answer
A debut.
Young men there have theirs on their 21st birthday.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday?oldid=1376612893

Birthstones and birth flowers

43
What is the birthstone for January?

easy

Answer
Garnet.
It comes in every color, though reddish shades are the most common.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garnet?oldid=1382114820
44
Which purple gem is the birthstone for February?

easy

Answer
Amethyst.
Tibetans make prayer beads from it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst?oldid=1380075878
45
Which red gem is the birthstone for July?

medium

Answer
Ruby.
Its color comes from the element chromium.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby?oldid=1379817286
46
Which green gem is the birthstone for August?

medium

Answer
Peridot.
In 2016, US jewelers added spinel as a second August birthstone.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peridot?oldid=1372901892
47
Which gem is the birthstone for October?

medium

Answer
Opal.
It is the national gemstone of Australia.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opal?oldid=1366758276
48
Which gem did the American Gem Trade Association add as a December birthstone in 2002?

hard

Answer
Tanzanite.
December's other birthstones are turquoise and zircon.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthstone?oldid=1372868697
49
In 1912, American jewelers met in which city to agree on a standard list of birthstones?

hard

Answer
Kansas City.
Tiffany & Co. had printed poems pairing each month with a stone back in 1870.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthstone?oldid=1372868697
50
Which flower is the birth flower for January?

medium

Answer
The carnation.
Greek writers mentioned it 2,000 years ago.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianthus_caryophyllus?oldid=1371674401

Famous birthdays and birthday numbers

51
Who sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy in 1962?

easy

Answer
Marilyn Monroe.
More than 15,000 people were at the gala in Madison Square Garden.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday,_Mr._President?oldid=1380423518
52
The federal holiday most people call Presidents' Day officially marks whose birthday?

easy

Answer
George Washington.
Since 1971 it has fallen on the third Monday in February.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday?oldid=1376612893
53
Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on the third Monday in January. On what date was he actually born?

medium

Answer
January 15.
The holiday was first observed in 1986.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day?oldid=1381242264
54
India marks whose birthday with a national holiday every October 2?

medium

Answer
Mahatma Gandhi.
The holiday is called Gandhi Jayanti.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday?oldid=1376612893
55
What is a person born on February 29 sometimes called?

medium

Answer
A leapling, or a leaper.
In the UK, their legal birthday in other years is March 1.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year?oldid=1382314116
56
In which Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera is a pirate apprentice, born on February 29, bound to serve until his 21st birthday?

hard

Answer
The Pirates of Penzance.
Since 1900 was not a leap year, he would be 88 before that birthday came.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year?oldid=1382314116
57
In a room of just 23 people, what is the chance that at least 2 of them share a birthday?

hard

Answer
50.7%, a little better than even.
That many people make 253 different pairs to compare.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem?oldid=1380017441
58
Racehorses in the Northern Hemisphere all count as a year older on which date?

hard

Answer
January 1.
In the Southern Hemisphere, they all turn a year older on August 1.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday?oldid=1376612893

Timer and team scores

Seconds per turnTurns in the session

8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.

Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Teams

Team Lime's turn

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 0

Use this set with a group

Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.

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