What's a typical head circumference for my baby, by month?
In short
- These numbers come from the US CDC 2000 growth reference, a reference based on US children -- not the World Health Organization's growth standards. For babies under 2, CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend doctors use the WHO growth standards instead, whatever the feeding type; in India, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics recommends WHO's charts for children under five. Ask your doctor which chart they use for your baby.
- In the CDC 2000 reference, the middle 94% of newborn boys have a head circumference of between 31.5 and 38.9 cm, and girls, between 31.9 and 38.1 cm.
- Babies grow at very different paces. These numbers are a range most babies fall in, not a target -- your doctor tracks the trend over several visits, not any single measurement.
- The full table below shows the 3rd, 50th (median) and 97th percentiles from the CDC 2000 reference, for each whole month from birth to 24 months.
Which growth chart does your doctor use?
The CDC 2000 reference used on these pages is a licence-clean data source, not the reference doctors are told to use for infants. For ages 0-2, CDC/AAP recommend clinicians use the WHO growth standards instead, and (for India) IAP recommends WHO's charts under age five. Every growth page must say so plainly, near the top, and never imply the CDC 2000 numbers are 'the' standard a doctor uses to judge a baby under 2.
CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that U.S. health care providers in primary-care settings use: WHO child growth standards for children birth to 2 years to monitor growth, regardless of feeding type.
CDC / American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Recommendations and Rationale -- Growth Chart Training -- CDC. Retrieved 2026-09-26. Quoted verbatim.
Indian academy of pediatrics (IAP) produced and recommended IAP 2015 Growth charts for monitoring Indian children between the age of 5 to 18 years and recommended simplified WHO growth charts for monitoring of children under the age of five years.
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Pediatrician-friendly growth charts for 0-18-year-old Indian children (Dr Bakul Parekh, Dr Vaman Khadilkar), iapindia.org. Retrieved 2026-09-26. Quoted verbatim.
The full table, birth to 24 months
| Age | Boys: median | Boys: 3rd-97th percentile | Girls: median | Girls: 3rd-97th percentile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn (birth) | 35.8 cm | 31.5 cm - 38.9 cm | 34.7 cm | 31.9 cm - 38.1 cm | CDC |
| 1 month | 39.2 cm | 35.8 cm - 41.9 cm | 38 cm | 35.5 cm - 41 cm | CDC |
| 2 months | 40.7 cm | 37.6 cm - 43.3 cm | 39.4 cm | 37 cm - 42.2 cm | CDC |
| 3 months | 41.8 cm | 38.9 cm - 44.3 cm | 40.5 cm | 38.1 cm - 43.2 cm | CDC |
| 4 months | 42.7 cm | 40 cm - 45.2 cm | 41.3 cm | 39 cm - 44 cm | CDC |
| 5 months | 43.4 cm | 40.8 cm - 45.9 cm | 42.1 cm | 39.8 cm - 44.7 cm | CDC |
| 6 months | 44 cm | 41.5 cm - 46.5 cm | 42.7 cm | 40.4 cm - 45.3 cm | CDC |
| 7 months | 44.6 cm | 42.1 cm - 47 cm | 43.3 cm | 41 cm - 45.8 cm | CDC |
| 8 months | 45.1 cm | 42.7 cm - 47.5 cm | 43.7 cm | 41.4 cm - 46.2 cm | CDC |
| 9 months | 45.5 cm | 43.1 cm - 47.9 cm | 44.2 cm | 41.9 cm - 46.6 cm | CDC |
| 10 months | 45.9 cm | 43.5 cm - 48.3 cm | 44.5 cm | 42.2 cm - 47 cm | CDC |
| 11 months | 46.2 cm | 43.8 cm - 48.7 cm | 44.9 cm | 42.6 cm - 47.3 cm | CDC |
| 12 months | 46.5 cm | 44.1 cm - 49 cm | 45.2 cm | 42.8 cm - 47.7 cm | CDC |
| 13 months | 46.8 cm | 44.4 cm - 49.3 cm | 45.5 cm | 43.1 cm - 47.9 cm | CDC |
| 14 months | 47 cm | 44.6 cm - 49.5 cm | 45.7 cm | 43.3 cm - 48.2 cm | CDC |
| 15 months | 47.3 cm | 44.9 cm - 49.8 cm | 46 cm | 43.6 cm - 48.5 cm | CDC |
| 16 months | 47.5 cm | 45 cm - 50 cm | 46.2 cm | 43.8 cm - 48.7 cm | CDC |
| 17 months | 47.7 cm | 45.2 cm - 50.2 cm | 46.4 cm | 43.9 cm - 48.9 cm | CDC |
| 18 months | 47.9 cm | 45.4 cm - 50.4 cm | 46.6 cm | 44.1 cm - 49.1 cm | CDC |
| 19 months | 48 cm | 45.5 cm - 50.6 cm | 46.8 cm | 44.3 cm - 49.3 cm | CDC |
| 20 months | 48.2 cm | 45.6 cm - 50.8 cm | 47 cm | 44.4 cm - 49.5 cm | CDC |
| 21 months | 48.3 cm | 45.7 cm - 50.9 cm | 47.1 cm | 44.5 cm - 49.7 cm | CDC |
| 22 months | 48.5 cm | 45.8 cm - 51.1 cm | 47.3 cm | 44.6 cm - 49.8 cm | CDC |
| 23 months | 48.6 cm | 45.9 cm - 51.2 cm | 47.4 cm | 44.7 cm - 50 cm | CDC |
| 24 months | 48.7 cm | 46 cm - 51.4 cm | 47.5 cm | 44.8 cm - 50.1 cm | CDC |
Source
CDC 2000 Growth Charts for the United States, National Center for Health Statistics. See the data files. Retrieved 2026-09-26. Public domain -- see how we source and check every page.
Plot your own baby's measurements against these curves in our growth chart tool.
Babies grow at very different paces. These numbers are a range most babies fall in, not a target -- your doctor tracks the trend over several visits, not any single measurement.
Educational summary of CDC data, not medical advice.