September — The “Seventh” Month
September marks the beginning of autumn, but its name carries a reminder of a much older calendar.
The word September comes from the Latin septem, meaning “seven.” That makes perfect sense when we look back to the ancient Roman Republican calendar, which originally had only ten months. September was the seventh month, following Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, and Sextilis, and was followed by October, November, and December.
Then, in 45 BCE, the Julian calendar was introduced. January and February were added to the beginning of the year, shifting September from the seventh position to the ninth.
The Romans eventually renamed Quintilis and Sextilis, too. Quintilis became July, in honor of Julius Caesar, while Sextilis became August, honoring Augustus Caesar.
There were also attempts to rename September, October, November, and December to better reflect their new positions in the calendar—but none of those changes stuck. Their original names survived and, over time, spread into many other languages.
The Old English speakers apparently weren’t too bothered by the oddity of calling the ninth month “Seventh Month.” The name September eventually entered Old English through Old French, replacing the earlier Old English names Hāligmōnað and Hærfestmōnað.
Both names were associated with the season we now call autumn, with Hærfestmōnað meaning “harvest month.”
So every September, when we welcome the changing leaves and the approach of autumn, we’re also carrying forward a little piece of an ancient Roman calendar—one where September really was the seventh month.
