Etymology: The Months and Their Latin Origins
By Katie Dobelhoff
Happy November! Did you know that the names of the months have Latin origins? Although there have been adjustments to the calendar in the last couple of millennia, the Romans are partially responsible for the design of our current Gregorian calendar. In honor of the second-to-last month of 2021 (thank goodness), here is how each month got its name! Numa Pompilius’s Additions: the second king of Rome supposedly added two extra months, January and February, to fill the uncounted winter gap in the early Roman calendar.
January:
The first month of the year comes from the Latin Ianuarius, or "[the month] of Janus.” As the god of beginnings, Janus is the perfect god to commemorate the start of a new year.
February
Next is February, the last month of the earliest (pre-450 B.C.E.) Roman calendar. From the Latin verb februare, meaning "to purify,” February is the month of purification. It references Roman feasts, which were held on the ides of the month.
March:
March was originally the first month of the year for the Romans. It is sacred to Mars, deriving from the Latin name of the god Mars.
April:
The fourth month stems from the Latin Aprilis, and it refers to the second month of the ancient Roman calendar. The origin and meaning of Aprilis are uncertain, but perhaps it is based on Apru, the Etruscan name for Aphrodite, or from aperilis, meaning "the following, the next.”
May:
This month is directly from the Latin Maius. The word may possibly stem from Maia, a Roman earth goddess, or from the Latin magna, meaning "she who is great."
June:
The name of the sixth month comes from the Latin Iunius. This is probably a contraction of Iunonius, "sacred to Juno.”
the OGs: