monthnaming

Monthnaming refers to how calendars assign names to the months and how those names reflect history, culture, and language. In many systems, month names reveal ancient practices, religious influences, and political changes, while some cultures use numeric or descriptive schemes tied to seasons or agriculture.

In the Gregorian calendar, the western civil standard, most month names derive from ancient Rome. January is named for Janus, the two‑faced god of beginnings and ends. February comes from Februa, a Roman purification festival. March is linked to Mars, the god of war. April’s origin is uncertain, with theories ranging from aperire, meaning “to open,” to a connection with Aphrodite. May honors Maia, and June honors Juno. July was originally Quintilis and August was Sextilis; both were renamed for Julius Caesar and Augustus. September through December retain their Latin roots as seven through ten, even though the calendar’s order had shifted over time.

Other calendar systems employ different naming schemes. The Hebrew calendar uses month names such as Nisan, Iyar, and Tishrei, rooted in Hebrew and Babylonian tradition rather than Roman deities. The Islamic calendar uses months like Muharram, Safar, and Ramadan, many named for religious purposes in Arabic. The traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar often names months by numbers or by associations with solar terms and agricultural activity. In many languages, months are referred to by numerical or locally meaningful terms rather than the Latin names.

The study of month naming illuminates how religion, politics, science, and everyday life have shaped timekeeping across cultures.