What's in a name? The origins of our months' names
How did the months of the Gregorian calendar get their names? Were some months really named after Roman deities and rulers? Here’s what historians know.
Image: After Julius Caesar’s death in 44 BC, the Roman Senate honoured the late ruler by naming a month after him | stock.adobe.com
We are all familiar with the 12 months of the year and casually mention them without a second thought. Still, have you ever stopped to wonder where their names originally came from?
In 1752, Britain adopted the modern Gregorian calendar. It was in 1582 that Pope Gregory XIII had first introduced this calendar, refining the earlier Julian system created by Julius Caesar in 45 BC.
However, the history of how the months’ names came about can be traced even further back than this…
January
The Roman’s pre-Julian calendar of just 10 months is said to have been established by Romulus — the first king of Rome, according to legend.
This calendar ran from March to December, leaving a winter interlude to which no days were assigned at all. This is because it was deemed a barren period where it was best to rest rather than travel or wage military campaigns.
January was later added as the new first month of the year. The month’s Roman name, 'Ianuarius', was inspired by Janus — the Roman god of beginnings and endings.
February
Numa Pompilius, the legendary second king of Rome, is often thought responsible for adding January and February to the Roman calendar.
The Romans called February ‘Februarius’ — a name derived from the Latin word ‘februum’, referring to purification. Indeed, come the middle of the month, Ancient Rome would hold the annual Lupercalia festival to promote health and fertility.
March
'Martius' (as the Romans called it) used to be considered the year’s first month, as this was when military campaigns would recommence after the winter.
It’s fitting, then, that the month is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. The traditional story is that this decision was made by Romulus, a son of Mars.
April
Much mystery surrounds exactly how many of the months’ names were coined. This is typified by the case of April, which the Romans knew as ‘Aprilis’.
One theory is that the name is derived from the Latin term ‘aperire’, meaning 'to open' — as flowers’ buds would open during this springtime month.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that April was named in honour of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
May
Greenery continues to flourish abundantly in May. So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the month’s name is believed to be a nod to the Greek goddess Maia, a nurturer of plants.
Conversely, according to one story, Romulus named the month after the elders (‘maiores’) of the Roman male citizen body. Either theory would make sense given that May’s Roman name was ‘Maius’.
June
Romulus had the juniors (‘iuniores’), the other division of the Roman male citizen body, in mind when he named ‘Iunius’… or so the story goes.
It is also thought that the Roman deity Juno was the inspiration behind the name of the month we now know as June. Juno was a goddess of love and marriage, which could help to explain why June has cemented itself as a popular time for weddings.
July
As July was the fifth month in the pre-Julian calendar, it was long referred to as ‘Quintilis’ (the Latin word for ‘fifth’).
However, after Caesar’s death in 44 BC, the Roman Senate honoured the late ruler by jettisoning the Quintilis name in favour of ‘Julius’. The famed general and statement himself had been born on 12th July 100 BC.
During his rule, Caesar developed the Julian calendar with input from the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes.
August
This is another month once named in a way reflecting its position in Romulus’s calendar. To be exact, the month’s original name was ‘Sextilis’ (the Latin word ‘sextus’ translates as ‘sixth’ in English).
In 8 BC, Emperor Augustus (the founder of the Roman Empire) renamed Sextilis in his own honour. It was in the August of 30 BC that the emperor had conquered Egypt, making the month one of symbolic importance to him.
September, October, November, December
In Romulus’s calendar, these were the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth months. Recalling the original naming conventions used for July and August, you might already be able to gather how the following four months’ names arose.
Those names are derived from the Latin words ‘septem’, ‘octo’, ‘novem’ and ‘decem’. Yes, these mean ‘seven’, ‘eight’, ‘nine’ and ‘ten’ respectively!
Of course, September to December are actually the ninth to twelfth months in the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world today. Nonetheless, these names have stuck despite some emperors’ attempts to permanently replace them.
