10 Families With the Most Biological Children
Big families have always drawn attention because they sit far outside normal birth averages. Historical cases rely heavily on church or court documentation, while modern examples are tracked through medical records and media coverage. Altogether, these families represent the rare biological outcomes across very different places and time periods.
Leonora and Yanosh Nameni (21 Kids)
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In 2013, Leonora Nameni welcomed her 21st child in Ukraine when she was 44 years old, and the family eventually totaled 11 sons and 10 daughters. Two pregnancies resulted in twins, which helped raise the total. The family follows Apostolic Christian Nazarene beliefs, so they avoid birth control. Because of that and consistent pregnancies over time, her total became the highest recorded for a mother in Ukraine at that time.
Sue and Noel Radford (22 Kids)
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Britain’s Radford family lives in Morecambe, England, and runs a bakery alongside their daily operations. The household’s routines appeared on the TV show 22 Kids and Counting. Every child was born as a single, resulting in up to 22 children by 2020. The kids are split evenly between 11 boys and 11 girls, which is statistically unusual.
Mr. and Mrs. Harrison (35 Kids)
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A London woman reportedly delivered her 35th child with the same husband in 1736, and the family lived on Vere Street. Her spouse worked as an undertaker, and historical reports focused more on the total number of births than on survival rates. Because recordkeeping back then focused on births rather than long-term outcomes, it is harder to track how many children reached adulthood.
Elizabeth and William Greenhill (39 Kids)
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Because of the low number of multiple births, historians often consider this case medically unusual for that time period. English historical records say Elizabeth Greenhill had 39 children between 1615 and 1681, which already stands out because most large historical families relied on frequent multiple births. Only one pregnancy produced twins, and the family included seven sons and 32 daughters.
Elizabeth and John Mott (42 Kids)
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Elizabeth Mott married in 1676 in Monks Kirby, Warwickshire, England. She eventually had 42 live-born children before her death in 1720. Surviving documentation from that period is limited, so historians rely on scattered parish and family records.
Barbara and Adam Stratzmann (53 Kids)
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German historical records connect Barbara Stratzmann to 53 children by 1498, and the pregnancies reportedly included one set of septuplets and another of sextuplets. Nineteen children were stillborn, which reflected the very low medical survival rates of the late 1400s. Many children also died young because infant care and disease treatment were extremely limited during that period of European history.
Valentina and Feodor Vassilyev (69 Kids)
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Historical Russian documents link Valentina Vassilyeva to 69 births between 1725 and 1765, including 16 sets of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. Reports say 67 of the children survived infancy, which would have been extremely rare for that century. Still, many debate the total today because recordkeeping across rural Russia was not always consistent or complete.