How did January become January?

Ever look at the calendar and wondered "What on earth are the meanings of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November or December?"

No? Okay, I did though! And thanks to the vast oceans of the internet, I've found the real meanings of these month-names. 
First of all, FUN FACT: January wasn't actually the first month of the year! In the system of the ancient Romans, the year began in March and ended in February.

March

Mars, the Roman God of War

The ancient Romans insisted that all wars should stop during the time of celebration between the old and new years(What a fun time, it would have been!). Since March was the first month of the new year in ancient Rome, some historians believe the Romans named March after Mars, the Roman god of war (Get it? March, Mars... No? Me too.)

April

Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty (DeviantArt)

Three theories exist regarding the origin of April's name. Some say April got its name from the Latin word meaning “second" since April was the second month of the ancient calendar. Others claim it comes from “aperire", a Latin word that means “to open" because it represents the opening of buds and flowers in spring. Still, others think April was named after the goddess Aphrodite(Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, identified with Venus by the Romans.).

May

Maia, the Earth Goddess of Growing Plants

May was named after Maia, an earth goddess of growing plants.

June

Juno, the Queen of the Gods of Patroness of Marriage and Weddings

Apparently, June has always been a popular month for weddings! The Romans named June after Juno, the queen of the gods and patroness of marriage and weddings.

July

Julius Caesar (Right, in red)

July was named after Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. Previously, July was called “Quintilis," which is Latin for “fifth."

August

Augustus Caesar

August was named after Augustus Caesar in 8 B.C. Previously, August was called “Sextillia," which was Latin for “sixth."

Though we think of September, October, November, and December as months 9, 10, 11 and 12, these months were 7, 8, 9, and 10 on the ancient Roman calendar. This is how they got their names.

September: September's name comes from septem, Latin for “seven."

October: October's name comes from octo, Latin for “eight."

November: November's name comes from novem, Latin for “nine."

December: December's name come from decem, Latin for “ten."

January

Janus, the God of Beginnings and Endings

Later, Pompilius added another month to the beginning of the year and named it January after Janus, the God of beginnings and endings.

February

The Februa Festival

Around 690 B.C., Numa Pompilius turned a period of celebration at the end of the year into a month of its own, named after the festival Februa. This is how February got its name.


And that's that!

Will be back with more... Bye!

Source: Wonderopolis