From Left: Daniel Lesinski Jr., Daniel Lesinski III and Daniel Lesinski Sr.Photo:Daniel Lesinski Jr.
Daniel Lesinski Jr.
Three generations of a St. Louis family recently achieved a feat that is statistically mind-boggling: they all have the same name — and birthday!
Daniel Lesinski Jr. and his wife welcomed their third child, Daniel Lesinski III, on March 26. If that wasn’t already a big deal in the Lesinski family, the real kicker is that the newborn shares his birthday with not only his father, who was born in 1990, but also his grandfather, Daniel Lesinski Sr., born in 1957.
For Lesinski Jr., 34, the fact that they all have the same first and last namesandbirthdays hasn’t sunk in yet.
“From my perspective, it’s always been cool to share the same birthday as my dad,” Lesinski Jr. tells PEOPLE. “But now to have this happen… the only thing that has crossed my mind is what are us three going to do special next year.”
From Left: Daniel Lesinski Jr., Daniel Lesinski Sr. and Daniel Lesinski III.Daniel Lesinski Jr.
“It was humbling,” adds Lesinski Sr., 67, who says the family “couldn’t believe” it when that happened.
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According to a 2017BBCreport, the odds of a grandfather having the same birthday as his son and his grandson is 1 in 130,000.
Lesinski Sr. and his wife Cindy are the parents of four children — all boys — with Lesinski Jr. being the youngest of the siblings. “We were trying for a girl, obviously,” Lesinski Sr. says of having their fourth son. “But my wife said this is going to be my last chance to have a junior. So I took an opportunity.”
Growing up, Lesinski Jr. remembers there were a lot of joint happy birthday celebrations every year. “He and I would do something,” he says of his dad. “Go fishing or to a baseball game with just the two of us to make it special and acknowledge that we have something cool that most other fathers and sons don’t really get to share.”
And the fact that Lesinski Jr. could tell people he had the same name and birthday as his dad was a perfect icebreaker during certain situations. “At school, you get up and say your name and a fun fact about yourself,” he recalls. “I’d say my dad and I share the same birthday, and I’m a junior and I’m also the fourth-born son.”
Daniel Lesinski Jr. with his wife, Heidi, with their three children.Daniel Lesinski Jr.
“I said, ‘Cool. We might have a birthday buddy with Avie,' " Lesinski Jr. says, referring to their youngest daughter, who was born on April 2.
“That’s when the light bulb really went off in my head,” says Lesinski Jr. “It was like, ‘This could really happen.' "
Daniel Lesinski III.Daniel Lesinski Jr.
There was a sense of trepidation, however, as Heidi underwent an emergency cesarean section.
“I couldn’t be in the operating room,” Lesinski Jr. says. “Then finally I heard his cry from inside the room and they finally let me in and told me everything was going to be okay. It was a wild ride to the beginning of a birthday that ended up being one for the books.”
Lesinski Sr. describes the experience of the birth of his new grandson — the youngest of 13 — as “incredible.”
From Left: Daniel Lesinski Sr. and Daniel Lesinski Jr., who is holding Daniel Lesinski III.Daniel Lesinski Jr.
“I always wanted to carry on the Daniel name, and the fact that it happened on our birthday is even better,” adds Lesinski Jr.
As for what the March 26 birthday celebration in the family household will be like, Lesinski Jr. says, “A lot of people have said, ‘Go buy a lottery ticket.’ "
“But I don’t know. We’ll do something special,” he adds. “We’ll get out of St. Louis and go to celebrate.”
And when Daniel III reaches adulthood and becomes a father himself, is there hope that he will name his son Daniel Lesinski IV? Lesinski Jr. emphasizes that it’ll be totally up to his son. “I’m going to handle it the same way my dad handled it with me,” he says, “which was zero pressure.”
source: people.com
