Roman Months | Latin Language Blog (2024)

Salvete Omnes,

Recently, I was having a conversation with my husband about the months of the year and the days of the week. While the days of week are more Germanic in nature (for English at least), the months of the year have a very interesting history. So, let’s dive in.

The Roman calendar used a system of months, and special days in each month. Some calendars were carved in marble or stone, but many were painted on walls for decoration.

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Fasti Antiates maiores – zoom. Owner Patatruc. WikiCommons.

In 45 B.C.E., Romans modified their method of marking time to keep it in phase with season. Eventually, they accomplished the Julian Calendar. Month lengths were extended to bring the calendar’s total to 365 days, making it truly solar. This change was accompanied by addition of an extra day every fourth year (after February 23rd) because of the almost six extra hours beyond 365 days in a tropical year.

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Ovid’s monument of Constanța. Owner of photo: Ettore Ferrari. WikiCommons

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Copy of Plutarch at Chaeronia, Greece. Owner Odysses. WikiCommons

Much of the knowledge we now have about early Roman calendars came from Ovid’s Fasti, a Roman born in 43 B.C.E., and from Plutarch, a Greek biographer who wrote between C.E. 105 and 115.

Initially, it contained only ten months. It has been suggested that those month lengths reflected growth cycles of crops and cattle. When compared with the solar year, it had an uncounted winter period of approximately sixty days.

Months in the Republican Calendar
(Common Year)
Month NamesNumber of Days
Januarius29
Februarius28
Martius31
Aprilis29
Maius31
Iunius29
Quintilis31
Sextilis29
September29
October31
November29
December29

As you can see from the chart above, that many of the months we will still use today are from Ancient Rome.

January — Janus’s month

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Head of Janus, Vatican museum, Rome. Owner: Loudon dodd. WikiCommons.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle EnglishJanuarie
LatinJanuarius“of Janus”
LatinJanu(s)“Janus” + –arius“ary (pertaining to)”
LatinJanuarius mensis“month of Janus”

BACKGROUND: Janus is the Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. His festival month is January. Januarius had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long. There was also disagreement in Ovid’s day as to the sequence and time at which Januarius (andFebruarius)were added to the original ten months.Januarius became part of the calendar within half a century after Rome was founded because Plutarch said that Numa, the king who followed Romulus, made it the first month of the year and made February the last.

February — month of Februa

ETYMOLOGY: Middle EnglishFebruarius
LatinFebruarius“of Februa”
LatinFebrua(s)“Februa” + –arius“ary (pertaining to)”
LatinFebruarius mensis“month of Februa”
Latindies februatus“day of purification”

BACKGROUND: Februarius had 28 days, until circa 450 BC when it had 23 or 24 days on some of every second year, until Julius when it had 29 days on every fourth year and 28 days otherwise. Also, adding five days at year-end (to extend February’s length to 28) is similar to the change made by many other peoples who, around the time of Rome’s founding, added five days to their own calendar, but considered them to be unlucky and not part of the normal year.Februa is the Roman festival of purification, held on February fifteenth. It is possibly of Sabine origin.

March — Mars’ month

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Mars wearing a breastplate, Ancient Roman bronze figurine. (Public Domain)

ETYMOLOGY:Middle EnglishMarch(e)
Anglo-FrenchMarch(e)
Old EnglishMartius
LatinMartius“of Mars”
LatinMarti(s)“Mars” + –us(adj. suffix)
LatinMartius mensis“month of Mars”

BACKGROUND: Martiushas always had 31 days.March was the original beginning of the year, and the time for the resumption of war. Mars is the Roman god of war. He is identified with the Greek godAres.

April — Aphrodite’s month

ETYMOLOGY:Old EnglishApril(is)
LatinAprilis
EtruscanApru
GreekAphro, short forAphrodite.

BACKGROUND: Aprilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long. According to Ovid, April was sacred to Venus, and her festival – the Festum Veneris and Fortuna Virilis – occurred on the first day of this month.” Apparently Aprilisstems from aphrilis, corrupted from Aphrodite, a Greek name for Venus.

May — Maia’s month

ETYMOLOGY:Old FrenchMai
Old EnglishMaius
LatinMaius“of Maia”
LatinMaius mensis“month of Maia”

BACKGROUND: Maiushas always had 31 days.Maia (meaning “the great one”) is the Italic goddess of spring, the daughter of Faunus, and wife of Vulcan. Maiuswas said by some to be named after the goddessMaia, a daughter of Atlas, andJunius“is indirectly named after the goddessJuno, the Roman equivalent of Frigga.

June — Juno’s month

ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishjun(e)
Old Frenchjuin
Old Englishjunius
LatinJunius“of Juno”
LatinJunius mensis“month of Juno”

BACKGROUND: Juniushad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.Juno is the principle goddess of the Roman Pantheon. She is the goddess of marriage and the well-being of women. She is the wife and sister of Jupiter. She is identified with the Greek goddessHera.

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The Tusculum portrait, possibly the only surviving sculpture of Caesar made during his lifetime. Archaeological Museum, Turin, Italy (Public Domain)

July — Julius Caesar’s month

ETYMOLOGY:Middle EnglishJulie
LatinJulius“Julius”
LatinJulius mensis“month of Julius”
Latinquintilis mensis“fifth month”

BACKGROUND: Quintilis(and laterJulius) has always had 31 days. Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar (hence the Julian calendar) in 46 BC. In the process, he renamed this month after himself.

August — Augustus Caesar’s month

ETYMOLOGY:LatinAugustus“Augustus”
LatinAugustus mensis“month of Augustus”
Latinsextilis mensis“sixth month”

BACKGROUND: Sextilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long.Augustus Caesar clarified and completed the calendar reform of Julius Caesar. In the process, he also renamed this month after himself.

September — the seventh month

ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishseptembre
LatinSeptember
Latinseptem“seven” +-ber(adj. suffix)
Latinseptember mensis“seventh month”

BACKGROUND:Septemberhad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.

October — the eighth month

ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishoctobre
LatinOctober
Latinocto“eight” +-ber(adj. suffix)
Latinoctober mensis“eighth month”

BACKGROUND:Octoberhas always had 31 days.

November — the nineth month

ETYMOLOGY:Middle EnglishNovembre
LatinNovember
LatinNovembris mensis“nineth month”

BACKGROUND:Novembrishad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.

December — the tenth month

ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishdecembre
Old Frenchdecembre
Latindecember“tenth month”
Latindecem“ten” +-ber(adj. suffix)

BACKGROUND:Decemberhad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long.

Intercalaris — inter-calendar month

ETYMOLOGY:LatinIntercalaris“inter-calendar”
LatinMercedonius(popular name) “?”

BACKGROUND: Intercalaris had 27 days until the month was abolished by Julius Caesar. It theoretically occurred every two (or occasionally three) years, but was sometimes avoided or employed by theRoman pontiffs for political reasons regardless of the state of the solar year. It was also known as Mercedoniusmeaning “Work Month” in Latin.

Well, I hope this helps with any future conversations or debates regarding the months of the year.

Roman Months | Latin Language Blog (2024)

FAQs

What are the Roman months in Latin? ›

The months bore the names Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Juniius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December—the last six names correspond to the Latin words for the numbers 5 through 10.

Did the Romans have a 13 month calendar? ›

The ten months were Latinized versions of March through December. For most of the time of the Roman Republic they had 12/13 lunisolar months. January and February were added and a leap month, Mercedonius, in some years (typical of lunisolar calendars).

What months were missing in the Roman calendar? ›

  • January and February, Initially, the Romans just didn't count in the winter. At some point, the beginning of the year changed from March to January.
  • After they added Jan. ...
  • In 46 BC, Julius Caesar imposed a long year of confusion (445 days) to get the calendar back on track and imposed his Julian calendar in 45 BC.
Jul 8, 2021

What were the 10 months of the Roman calendar? ›

The 10 months were named Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. The last six names were taken from the words for five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.

Why do we have 12 months instead of 13? ›

Why are there 12 months in the year? Julius Caesar's astronomers explained the need for 12 months in a year and the addition of a leap year to synchronize with the seasons. At the time, there were only ten months in the calendar, while there are just over 12 lunar cycles in a year.

What god is June named after? ›

June is named after the Roman goddess Juno – the god of marriage and childbirth, and the wife of Jupiter, king of the gods. Here she is seated in a chariot. Giulio Bonasone (1500/10–1574), The Triumph of Juno from the series Loves, Rages and Jealousies of Juno.

What was the 13th month called? ›

Historian Cassius Dio tells that Licinus, procurator of Gaul, added two months to the year 15 BCE, because taxes were paid by the month. Though not named by Dio, who wrote in Greek, August Immanuel Bekker suggested these might have been called "Undecember" and "Duodecember".

Why did the Romans add two months to the calendar? ›

The ancestor of the Gregorian calendar was the first Roman calendar which had some differences: it consisted of 10 months rather than 12. In order to synchronise the calendar with the lunar year, the Roman king Numa Pompilius added 2 more months, January and February.

Why is October not the eighth month? ›

The meaning of October comes from the Latin word Octo meaning eight. The old Roman calendar started in March, so October was the eighth month. When the Roman senate changed the calendar in 153 BCE, the new year started in January, and October became the tenth month.

What calendar did Jesus use? ›

The Julian calendar is the one that was introduced in the year 46 BC by Julius Caesar to all of the Roman Empire, and it is the calendar that was used during the life of Jesus Christ and at the time of the early Church.

What are the two newest months? ›

September is the ninth month because two months were added to the original ten month calendar, but those months were January and February. Contrary to popular belief the months of July and August were NOT added, they simply were renamed.

Did Julius Caesar revise the Roman calendar? ›

Caesar decided it was time to reform the Roman calendar. To get things started, he added two additional months to the calendar, lining up the equinox.

Why is September not the 7th month? ›

September (from Latin septem, "seven") or mensis September was originally the seventh of ten months on the ancient Roman calendar that began with March (mensis Martius, "Mars' month"). It had 29 days. After the reforms that resulted in a 12-month year, September became the ninth month, but retained its name.

What was July called before? ›

JULY: This month used to be called Quintilis – the Roman word for “fifth” as it was the fifth month of the Roman year. It was later changed to July by the ruler of Roman world, Julius Caesar, after his family name (Julius).

What month did Julius Caesar add to the calendar? ›

1: The Romans originally used a 10-month calendar, but Julius and Augustus Caesar each wanted months named after them, so they added July and August.

What are the months in Roman letters? ›

JANUARIUS, FEBRUARIUS, MARTIUS, APRILIS, MAIUS, JUNIUS, JULIUS, AUGUSTUS, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER.

What is the Roman month order? ›

Calendar system

The year started on 1 March and had only 304 days or 10 months (March, April, May, June, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November and December). These 304 days were followed by an unnamed 50-day winter period. The Roman king Numa Pompilius (c.

What 3 months are named after Romans? ›

August is named after Augustus Caesar, and October is allegedly named in honor of Augustus Caesar's military victories. The other two months on the Julian calendar named after famous Romans are July, August, and October.

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