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2011 Chinese Zodiac Year: Metal Rabbit Dates and Birth Lookup

By Astrolivo editorial team

In the Chinese lunisolar calendar convention used on this site, 2011 is the Year of the Metal Rabbit (Xin-mao), running inclusively from February 3, 2011 through January 22, 2012. Because the lunar year begins in early February, anyone born between January 1, 2011 and February 2, 2011 belongs to the preceding Tiger year rather than the Rabbit year.

2011 Birth-Date Lookup Table

Find your exact Gregorian birth date in the two-row table below to confirm which Chinese zodiac year applies:

Inclusive Gregorian Date RangeChinese Zodiac AnimalYear Designation
January 1, 2011 – February 2, 2011TigerPrevious lunar year (ends the day before 2011 Lunar New Year)
February 3, 2011 – January 22, 2012RabbitMetal Rabbit (Xin-mao)

Why Birth Year Alone Is Not Enough

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, aligning lunar months with the solar cycle. Because Lunar New Year falls between late January and mid-February rather than on January 1, checking only a person's Gregorian birth year can give the wrong zodiac animal for January and early-February births.

Consider a hypothetical comparison between two people born in early 2011:

  • Hypothetical birth on January 25, 2011: Because this date is before the February 3 Lunar New Year, the birth falls in the final days of the Tiger year.
  • Hypothetical birth on February 3, 2011: Because this date is Lunar New Year's Day, the birth falls on the opening day of the Metal Rabbit year.

How the Metal Rabbit (Xin-mao) Name Works

Traditional Chinese calendar naming pairs Ten Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui) with Twelve Earthly Branches (the twelve animal signs) to create a 60-year sexagenary cycle anchored in modern reference tables at 1984 (Jia-zi Rat). For the lunar year starting February 3, 2011, the stem-branch designation is *Xin-mao*:

  • *Xin* is the Heavenly Stem, which corresponds in traditional five-phase (wuxing) mapping to Metal.
  • *Mao* is the Earthly Branch corresponding to the Rabbit.

While the Rabbit recurs every 12 years, the paired element rotates through the stems. Only one Rabbit year in every 60-year cycle carries the Xin-mao (Metal Rabbit) name.

How This Differs from Western Sun Signs and Four Pillars (BaZi)

  • Western Sun signs: Tropical Western astrology divides the solar year into 12 roughly month-long signs determined by the Sun's ecliptic longitude. A Chinese zodiac animal sign spans an entire lunisolar year.
  • Lunar New Year vs. Four Pillars (BaZi): This lookup page uses the civil Lunar New Year boundary. Traditional Four Pillars (BaZi) calculations change the year pillar at the solar term Li Chun (start of spring) and combine year, month, day, and hour pillars. This page is a civil Lunar New Year reference, not a full Four Pillars chart.

Explore the full twelve-sign cycle on the Chinese Zodiac overview page or read the traditional profile of the Rabbit.

Sources and Reference Basis

Inclusive date boundaries and the Xin-mao header are sourced from the official Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Tables for 2011 and 2012 and the HKO Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches reference. The five-phase stem mapping (Xin = Metal) follows standard cultural correspondence documented in Yoo & Yoon (2019, DOI: 10.14369/jkmc.2019.32.2.017). Historical and calendar background follows reference articles from the Victoria and Albert Museum and Royal Museums Greenwich. Zodiac traditions are symbolic cultural frameworks, not scientifically validated predictors of character or life outcomes.