Mother's Day Fun Facts

How Did Mother's Day Begin?

The driving force behind Mother's Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She finally succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

How Many Mothers?

85.4 million

Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2009.
Source: Survey of Income and Program Participation, unpublished tabulations

4.1 million

Number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 who gave birth in the past 12 months. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey

53%

Percentage of 15- to 44-year-old women who were mothers in 2010. Source: Fertility of American Women: 2010

81%

Percentage of women who had become mothers by age 40 to 44 as of 2010. In 1976, 90 percent of women in that age group had given birth.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2010

How Many Children

2,449

The total fertility rate or estimated number of total births per 1,000 women in Utah in 2010 (based on current birth rates by age), which led the nation. At the other end of the spectrum is Rhode Island, with a total fertility rate of 1,630.5 births per 1,000 women.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

20%

Percentage of all women age 15 to 44 who have had two children. About 47 percent had no children, 17 percent had one, 10 percent had three and about 5 percent had four or more.
Source: Fertility of American Women: 2010, Detailed Tables

Recent Births

3.954 million

Number of births registered in the United States in 2011. Of this number, 329,797 were to teens 15 to 19 and 7,651 to women age 45 to 49. 
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

25.4

Average age of women in 2010 when they gave birth for the first time, up from 25.2 years in 2009. The increase in the mean age from 2009 to 2010 reflects, in part, the relatively large decline in births to women under age 25.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

Jacob and Sophia

The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2011.
Source: Social Security Administration 

68

Number of births in the past year per 1,000 women age 15 to 50 with a graduate or professional degree. The number was 57 per 1,000 for women whose highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey, American FactFinder

Mothers Remembered

16,182

Number of florist establishments nationwide in 2010. The 70,575 employees in floral shops across our nation will be especially busy preparing, selling and delivering floral arrangements for Mother’s Day.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2010 

The flowers bought for mom have a good chance of having been grown in California. Among the 15 surveyed states, California was the leading provider of cut flowers in 2009, accounting for 75 percent of domestic flower production ($269 million out of $359 million at wholesale value) in those states. (The data pertain only to operations with sales greater than or equal to $100,000.)
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

23,739

Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2010 — the place to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2010 

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