Your social security number has some hidden meanings in there.

John David Sweeney

You’ve memorized your social security number – but do you know what it means?

There is a formula in there that says a bit about you. Here’s how to decode it:

• The first three digits are the area number. Originally, the numbers started in the northeast and moved westward. Now those numbers are based on the zip code in the mailing address on your application form. For most people, those first three numbers indicate the state they were born in.

• The two digits in the middle are used to break same area numbers into smaller groups.

• The last four digits are the serial number. After the group number in the middle, the serial numbers are assigned in consecutive order from 0001 to 9999.

So far, social security numbers have not run out. Using the current nine-digit system, we have one billion possible combinations and we’re up to a little more than 453 million.

The first official social security card was issued to John David Sweeney, a 23 year old from New Rochelle, New York. He was just randomly pulled from a stack of records and was given the number 055-09-0000. He died at age 61 before ever receiving any benefits from the program.