---
title: "Weekday and Month Names: Their Gods | Myth Marsh"
description: "Which gods and planets the English days and months are named after, from Woden and Thor to Janus and Juno, with Latin, French, Spanish and German."
url: https://mythmarsh.me/weekday-and-month-names/
---

Days · months · planets

# Weekday and month names

Four English weekdays carry the names of Germanic gods, one keeps a Roman god, and several months are Roman gods too. Pick a name to see where it comes from.

## Name origins

Days of the week

Months

Names with a solid border come from a god.

## Gods and planets in the week

The seven-day week reached northern Europe with Latin names taken from the seven heavenly bodies the ancients called planets: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, which the Latin names in turn translate from Greek. Germanic speakers kept the Sun and Moon, swapped four Roman gods for the gods they matched them with, and left Saturn as he was. So Mars's day became Tiw's day (Tuesday), Mercury's became Woden's (Wednesday), Jupiter's became Thor's (Thursday) and Venus's became Frigg's (Friday). These swaps show which gods early Germanic speakers paired with the Roman ones; they do not make Woden and Mercury the same god.

The origins here follow the Online Etymology Dictionary, and where it hedges, so does this page: April is **debated**, May is **possibly** from a Roman goddess Maia, and June is **probably** from Juno. Months from July on are named for Julius Caesar, Augustus and the numbers of the old Roman year, which began in March.

| English | Named after | Latin | French | Spanish | German | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sunday | the Sun | dies Solis | dimanche | domingo | Sonntag | [Etymonline, “Sunday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Sunday) |
| Monday | the Moon | dies Lunae | lundi | lunes | Montag | [Etymonline, “Monday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Monday) |
| Tuesday | Tiw (Norse Týr) | dies Martis | mardi | martes | Dienstag | [Etymonline, “Tuesday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Tuesday)[Etymonline, “Mardi Gras” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Mardi%20Gras) |
| Wednesday | Woden (Norse Odin) | dies Mercurii | mercredi | miércoles | Mittwoch | [Etymonline, “Wednesday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Wednesday)[Etymonline, “Woden” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Woden) |
| Thursday | Thor (Old English Thunor) | dies Iovis | jeudi | jueves | Donnerstag | [Etymonline, “Thursday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Thursday)[Etymonline, “Thor” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Thor) |
| Friday | Frigg (Old English Frige) | dies Veneris | vendredi | viernes | Freitag | [Etymonline, “Friday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Friday)[Etymonline, “Frigg” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Frigg) |
| Saturday | Saturn | dies Saturni | samedi | sábado | Samstag | [Etymonline, “Saturday” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Saturday)[Etymonline, “Sabbath” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Sabbath) |

| English | Named after | Latin | French | Spanish | German | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| January | Janus | Ianuarius | janvier | enero | Januar | [Etymonline, “January” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/January)[Fasti 1.63–66 (Ovid, Fasti)](https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi007.perseus-lat2:1.63-1.66/) |
| February | februa, purification rites | Februarius | février | febrero | Februar | [Etymonline, “February” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/February) |
| March | Mars | Martius | mars | marzo | März | [Etymonline, “March” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/March) |
| April | uncertain; perhaps Aphrodite debated | Aprilis | avril | abril | April | [Etymonline, “April” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/April) |
| May | Maia, a Roman goddess (possibly) possibly | Maius | mai | mayo | Mai | [Etymonline, “May” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/May)[Etymonline, “Maia” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Maia) |
| June | Juno (probably) probably | Iunius | juin | junio | Juni | [Etymonline, “June” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/June) |
| July | Julius Caesar | Iulius | juillet | julio | Juli | [Etymonline, “July” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/July) |
| August | the emperor Augustus | Augustus | août | agosto | August | [Etymonline, “August” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/August) |
| September | the number seven | September | septembre | septiembre | September | [Etymonline, “September” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/September) |
| October | the number eight | October | octobre | octubre | Oktober | [Etymonline, “October” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/October) |
| November | the number nine | November | novembre | noviembre | November | [Etymonline, “November” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/November) |
| December | the number ten | December | décembre | diciembre | Dezember | [Etymonline, “December” (Online Etymology Dictionary)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/December) |

## Sources

Word histories are from the Online Etymology Dictionary (Douglas Harper), entry by entry below. Janus's place at the start of the year is from Ovid's Fasti.

### Latin texts

- [Ovid, Fasti](https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi007.perseus-lat2:1.1/), Latin text, Scaife reader (Perseus).

### Reference works

- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Sunday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Sunday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Monday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Monday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Tuesday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Tuesday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Mardi Gras”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Mardi%20Gras), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Wednesday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Wednesday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Woden”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Woden), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Thursday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Thursday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Thor”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Thor), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Friday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Friday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Frigg”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Frigg), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Saturday”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Saturday), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Sabbath”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Sabbath), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “January”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/January), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “February”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/February), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “March”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/March), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “April”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/April), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “May”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/May), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “Maia”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Maia), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “June”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/June), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “July”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/July), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “August”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/August), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “September”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/September), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “October”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/October), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “November”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/November), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.
- [Online Etymology Dictionary, “December”](https://www.etymonline.com/word/December), Douglas Harper, etymonline.com.

## Questions

**Which days of the week are named after Norse gods?**

Four, in their Old English forms: Tuesday (Tiw, the Norse Týr), Wednesday (Woden, Odin), Thursday (Thor) and Friday (Frigg). Each translates a Latin day named after a Roman god: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus.

**Why is Saturday still named after Saturn?**

The Old English name kept the Roman god from Latin Saturni dies. The Online Etymology Dictionary suggests this may be because the northern gods had no counterpart to Saturn.

**Is Friday named after Frigg or Freyja?**

The Old English name, frigedæg, is from Frigg. The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that Freyja is closer in character to Venus, and that some early Icelandic writers called the day Freyjudagr, but the English name comes from Frigg.

**Is April named after Aphrodite?**

Possibly, but it is debated. One suggestion is an Etruscan form Apru borrowed from the Greek Aphrodite; others link it to a word for “following”, since April was the second month of the old Roman year. The Roman idea that it came from aperire, “to open”, is a folk etymology.