We have the Romans to thank for these. They dedicated January to the god Janus. He looked after the entrance to the year. To do this Janus had two faces. With one he could look back over the old year while the other looked forward to the new year. February was the month of purification in ancient Rome and February comes from the Latin word meaning ‘to purify by sacrifice’. March got its name from Mars, the god of war.
Spring starts to appear in the fourth month. Plants and trees start to unfold then. The earth begins shooting forth new life. So this one was called April, which probably got its name from the Latin word meaning to open. Maia was the lovely Roman goddess in charge of growth and she seemed a good bet for the month we now call May. Another Roman goddess called Juno, probably gave her name to the sixth month – June. However, there is a bit of doubt about this. The name Junius, connected with youth, may have been the origin as well.
You are on safer ground with July and August. Both of these were named after famous Roman leaders. July was named in honour of Julius Caesar. He conquered Britain, among other places. August took its name from the emperor Augustus. He was the first emperor of Rome and this was his lucky month.
After Augustus the Romans seemed to have run out of original ideas. September, October, November and December are named after the Latin words for seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth. The earliest Roman calendar had only ten months, the year used to begin in March. Therefore September was the seventh month and so on until the end of the year.
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