NAME OF THE DAY: May

Happy May🌸 Day! The May🌸1 holiday is a "celebration with a long and varied history, dating back millennia. Throughout the years, there have been many different events and festivities worldwide, most with the express purpose of welcoming in a change of season (spring in the Northern Hemisphere). In the 19th century, May🌸 Day took on a new meaning, as an International Workers’ Day grew out of the 19th-century labor movement for worker’s rights and an eight-hour workday in the United States," History.com states.

Today I will discussing the 📅month: 📛May🌸 as a first name. 

But first: How did May🌸 as a month get its name? 🤔 Dictionary.com dives into it: "May may seem like a short and simple name, but its origin is actually fairly complex and interesting. May refers to the fifth month of the year, with 31 days, marking spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Named after the Roman goddess Maia, its traditional birthstone is the emerald, symbolizing growth and renewal. In English, may also functions as a modal verb, expressing possibility, permission, or a wish."

May🌸 is also another name of the hawthorn 🌸flower. 

May🌸 is a surname.📛

May 🌸 as a first name, 📛Nameberry🍒 has a lot to say: "May is a sweet old-fashioned name that hasn't been on the national charts in several decades, but is definitely sounding fresh and springlike. Parents are beginning to see it once more as one of the prettiest middle name options. May was as high on the list as Number 57 in the 1880s; it's now 228 on Nameberry. May started as one of the innumerable pet forms of Mary and Margaret, as well as a springtime month name along with April and June." May🌸 ranks #963 in US Top 1000. 📊 

The other May🌸, 📛Mae (a la West🎥) is also dubbed, "one of the prettiest and most popular middle name options for girls," by 📛NB🍒. "Mae belongs to spring mornings and handwritten letters. One syllable that somehow contains multitudes. It’s the kind of name that feels like a secret handshake between parents who appreciate understated elegance. Not flashy, just perfect," MSN's Lifestyle Parenting blog believes — calling the alternative to the original May🌸 one of '15 short girl names becoming the most popular choices.'

📍California and 📍🌺Hawaii are the places where the most Mays🌸reside. 

I like the name 📛May🌸 because it's a 📅month name and an old fashioned name — but I admit, I like it more for a middle name. 🤷🏾‍♀️ It just somehow goes so 👌🏾 well with almost any first name. But I'd use the even more ⭐retro 📛Mae more so for a middle name over using May🌸. I truly was unaware how 📈popular the name 📛May🌸 (& 📛Mae) really are until I started researching for this piece on the month name — at least as a middle name. That proves it is not going anywhere anytime soon. As it shouldn't. 📛May🌸 is super simple name yes but it's a really nice, sweet name for a 💗girl — and a wonderful middle 📛 name choice as well — that just seems to fit ✔ well with seemingly most first names.

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛MAYS🌸:

📛Mary "May🌸 Whitty" Webster 🎥 (actress)

📛Maj "May🌸 Britt" Wilkens 🎥 (actress & ❌ex 💕 wife of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.)

📛May🌸 Miller ✍🏽 / 🎭 (poet & playwright)

📛May🌸 Sutton 🎾 (professional tennis player) 

📛May🌸 Hezlet 🏌️‍♀️ (professional golfer)

📛May🌸 Allison 🎥 (actress)

📛May🌸 Robson 🎥 (actress)

📛May🌸 Hong 🎥 (actress)

📛May🌸 Chin 🎥 (actress)

📛May🌸 Pang (Beatles singer John Lennon's ❌ex 💕 partner)

📛May🌸 "May J." Hashimoto 🎤 (singer)

📛May🌸 Hariri 🎤/ 🎥 (singer & actress) 

📛May🌸 Calamawy 🎥 (actress) 

📛May🌸 Benben (💗daughter of actress Madeline Stowe & actor Brian Benben) 

📛May🌸 Nivola (💗daughter of actress Emily Morton & actor Alessandro Nivola)

📛Ella May🌸 Clapton (💗daughter of singer Eric Clapton) 

📛Lykke May🌸 Anderson 👠 (model)

📛May🌸 Clutterbucket 📺 (tv show character on Girl Meets World, played by ✨Sabrina Carpenter)

📛May🌸 Welland 📕 (book character in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton)

📛May🌸 Bartram 📕 (book character in The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James)

📛May🌸 Singer 📕 (book character in The Selection by Kiera Cass)

📛May🌸 "Aunt May" Parker 👵 (character in Marvel comic book of Peter Parker aka 🕷Spiderman's aunt)

📛May🌸 "Mayday" Parker 👧 (character in Marvel comic book of Peter Parker aka 🕷Spiderman's daughter)

📛May🌸 Kanker (🖋cartoon character in Ed, Edd n Eddy)

📛May🌸 (cartoon character in 💛Pokemon) 

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛May🌸:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/M/MA/MAY/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛May🌸: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓/10  

📌👀CHECK OUT ALL OF ☔IRNs📛 POSTS ON THE 📅MONTH 📛NAMES ⬇:

📛📅January: https://itsrainingnames.blogspot.com/2026/01/name-of-day-january.html

📛📅April: https://itsrainingnames.blogspot.com/2026/04/name-of-day-april.html

📛📅June: https://itsrainingnames.blogspot.com/2025/06/name-of-day-june.html

📛📅August: https://itsrainingnames.blogspot.com/2025/08/name-of-day-august.html

📛📅October: https://itsrainingnames.blogspot.com/2025/10/name-of-day-october.html

NAME OF THE DAY: April

🎉Happy April Fool's Day! Today on the least serious holiday, one full of 😒 pranks, laughs 😂 and for the jokesters 🤡 — I will talk about the once most popular 📅month name: 📛April☔

📛Nameberry🍒 points out, "April☔ has been overtaken by June (for girls) and August (for boys), as well as the charmingly old-fashioned May." April☔ ranks at #502 on US Top 1000. 

A variant of April☔: 📛Apryl (a la Jones🎥) and the French version is 📛Avril (a la Lavigne🤘). 

Dictionary.com's history on 📅April is extensive: "There are a few common theories behind April‘s naming. One is that the name is rooted in the Latin Aprilis, which is derived from the Latin aperire meaning “to open”—which could be a reference to the opening or blossoming of flowers and trees, a common occurrence throughout the month of April in the Northern Hemisphere. Another theory holds that since months are often named for gods and goddesses, and since Aphrilis is derived from the Greek Aphrodite, it is possible the month was named for the Greek goddess of love (the goddess that the Romans called Venus)! Even now, April is a popular name. And, as if that isn’t enough of a mystery, April also has yet another origination story. Around the fifth century, the Anglo-Saxons referred to April as Oster-monath or Eostre-monath, a reference to the goddess Eostre, whose feast was celebrated during the month. The Venerable Bede, a monk from the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter, believed this gave root to the word Easter—which is most often observed during the month of April."

 📍Texas and 📍Maine are the states where the most Aprils☔ live. 

I've known three Aprils☔so far in my life (in 📍NYC 🗽) — a 🏫classmate and two neighbors🌇 — all very nice people. 👍🏾👍🏾 📛NB🍒 is adamant June is more ⬆ popular than April☔ currently ⬇ but... I've yet to meet a June (a May or an August). 🤔 

January ➡ October ➡ June ➡ May ➡August ➡April☔is the order of my favorite 📅month 📛names. April☔ is certainly not 🙅🏾‍♀️ my favorite because it's personally 😞 my least favorite month... but I like it as a first name fine. 👌🏾 I like that April☔ is a month name first of all and it's a cute enough name.

 I 🔮predict at some point 📛April☔will 📈overtake 📛June 📉 as most popular month name again —  but the two favorite 📅calendar names📛 seem like they will always be in friendly competition to out chart📊 the other. 

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛APRILS☔:

📛April☔ O'Neil 📰🐢 (cartoon character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) 

📛April☔ Winchell 🗣 (voice actress of cartoon character Clarabelle Cow 🐮 on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) 

📛April☔ Clark 🎥(actress) 

📛April☔ Telek 🎥 / 👸 (actress and former beauty queen) 

📛Elinor "April☔ March" Blake 🎤 (singer) 

📛April☔ June May (💗daughter of late comedian Ralphie May)

📛April☔ Ludgate 📺 (t.v. show character from Parks & Recreation)

📛April☔ Rhodes 📺 (t.v. show character from Glee)

📛April☔ Young 🧛‍♂️📺 (t.v. show character from The Vampire Diaries) 

📛April☔ Wheeler 📘 / 🎥(book & movie main character from Revolutionary Road) 

📛April☔ North 📕 (book character in In His Wake by Chad Zunker) 

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛April☔:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/A/AP/APRIL/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛April☔: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓/10 

NAME OF THE DAY: January

Being it's the start of January 🎉 I will be discussing the first month of the year name: 📛📅January 

January "the term originated before the year 1000 from Middle English, ultimately deriving from the Latin noun use of Jānuārius, equivalent to Jānus. In ancient Roman culture, Jānus was a god of doorways, beginnings, and the rising and setting of the sun. His name comes from the Latin jānus, meaning 'doorway, archway, arcade.'"

Behind the Name explains that 📅January "briefly charted on the American top 1000 list for girls after it was borne by the protagonist of Jacqueline Susann's novel Once Is Not Enough (1973)." 📛Nameberry🍒 believes it was because of the character 📅January Wayne in Susann's 📘book that boosted baby girls to be named after her in the 1970s.

The second cultural influence that helped spike January as a baby name is — 📅January Jones 🎥 — who played Betty Draper on the wildly successful 2007 📺show Mad Men. The mother-to-be of Jones was inspired by 📅January Wayne's character so much, she named her baby daughter after her. Now Nameberry says, "📅January has joined 📅March, 📅April, 📅June and 📅August as a plausible month name."

📅January's rank on the US Top 1000 name chart 📈 is #749. And as of 2024, "📅January was only used on 11 girls in the US, making it a very rare choice." 

📍North Dakota 🥶 has the most Januarys along with supposedly ☀ sunny 📍California. 

📍Brazil, has the city of Januaria, which is used as a girl's name and means 'January' in Portuguese.

📛📅January 🥇 is just like the month name 📛October to me, one of my favorite names ever. I've loved 🥰 the name 📛📅January since I was in high 🏫school in fact. It's a name I would have loved to have been named 😭 as I was born 👶🏾 (and if I had a daughter and she were born in January, 📛📅January would be my top pick 👌🏾) in January (btw today is my 🎂birthday! 🤗).

📛📅January is a beautiful name with significant history behind the name. I definitely prefer📛📅January more so for a girl 💗 but boys named 📛📅January 💙 are just as cool. 😎 I'm surprised 📛📅January is not a top month baby name by now... 🤔 I hope it will start to rise 📈 on the name charts again. 🤞🏾 Nameberry has hope it will too pointing out: "January was used by Emily Henry in her popular contemporary romance novel, Beach Read, which might inspire parents-to-be in coming years." 

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛JANUARYS:

📛January LaVoy 🧼📺 (actress)

📛January Isaac 📺🎥 (actress)

📛January Gessert 👠 / 📺🌟 (model & reality star)

📛January Low 💃🏻 (dancer)

📛January So 👠 (model)

📛January Thompson 🎤 (singer)

📛January Makamba   (politician) 

📛January Suchodolski 🖌 (painter)

♂️Masculine Version of 📛JANUARY:

📛JANUS

💭I love the masculine version of January. It's a very strong 💪 name and I love the meaning 🚪 behind the name. Janus and January could also make a very cute brother/sister name combination, especially for twins. 👦👧

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛January:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/J/JA/JANUARY/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛January: 👍  OR 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗/10

NAME OF THE DAY: October

🎉Happy October! Today is the beginning of the month (my favorite month 🎃) and therefore I will talk about the name 📛October 🧡

October: "is the tenth month by our Gregorian calendar and is from the Latin octo and Greek okto, meaning “eight.” October was the eighth month of the year rather than the tenth as it is today. The Roman calendar was only ten months long and included the following months: Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. As you can see, January and February hadn’t been added to the calendar yet! Like its neighboring months September, November, and December, the month of October kept its numerical name, even after Julius Caesar expanded the calendar year from 10 months to 12. The use of October increased after the Norman invasion of 1066, eventually replacing the Old English vernacular term Winterfylleð (“Winter full moon”)," Dictionary.com explains. 

On October being used as a first name, Nameberry asks, "What is so rare as a month named June? October – and November and December – are a lot rarer. Brisk and substantial, they're so much more memorable and modern than April or May." 

October is not unanimously seen as a unisex name but both baby boys and girls use it. Although, My Name Stats claims according to SSA data, usually October is used as a girl's name 100% of the time. The most Octobers can be found fittingly in 📍Massachusetts, followed by Rhode Island. October also is a surname. 📛

October is one of my favorite first names 😍 —  as in 🏆"Top 10 Favorite Names"📛📃. I love it so much! 🥰 It's a name I definitely wish ✨ I had if I could have been born with a name other than my own. 😭 I actually knew an October in my college years and I was beyond in awe 😮 at her name, envious too. 😊 I remembering going up to her after or before class one day and inquiring about her unique name. 🧐 When she said her grandmother was named October too I was really wowed! 🤯

📛October is an outstanding 👏🏾 really rare first name (I prefer it more so for a girl💗). I doubt October will ever be a popular name month 🙁 but that's part of the appeal — and that makes it even more mysterious and cool 😎 (when given to a 💙boy) to have as one's name. 😁 

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛OCTOBERS

📛💗October Gray  (daughter of Slipknot late band member Paul Gray)

📛💗October Eggers  (daughter of writer Dave Eggers)

📛💗October 🎮 (character in the game Cthulhu Saves the World)

📛💗October "Toby" Daye 📙 (character in book series by Seanan Maguire) 

📛💗October Bantum 🎥 (character in horror movie Stay Alive)

📛💙"October London" aka Jared Erskine 🎤 (singer) 

📛💙"October Jones" aka Joe Butcher  🖊(animator) 

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛October:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/O/OC/OCTOBER/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛October: 👍 OR 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 / 10 

NAME OF THE DAY: August

Today is the start of August, so I will talk about the month name: 📅📛August. 

August is not only the eight month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, named in honor of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor — but a word, an adjective that means: 'inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur.'  

SSA data shows that 91% of the time August is used as a boy's name. August as a boy's name is in fact very popular, being at #88 on the Most Popular Baby Names in 2024. August is also used as a girl's name but it's not as popular and is at #910 on the Most Popular Baby Names for girls in 2024. The most Augusts can be found in New York and Louisiana.   

I like the name 📛August, it's a month name which is always a fun name choice to give/have. 👍🏾 But I do prefer August as a boy's name more than August for a girl's name. Maybe it's because I see 'Gus' in August and because of its origin name 📛Augustus, that I see August more of a masculine name than a feminine one. 

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛AUGUSTS:

📛Frederick August Wilson  (playwright) 

📛Johan August Strindberg ✍ (playwright)  

📛August Sander 📷 (photographer) 

📛August Alsina 🎤 (singer)

📛August Diehl 🎥 (actor)

📛August Hermann (actor Peter Hermann & actress Mariska Hargitay's son)

📛August Goldsmith (musician Taylor Goldsmith & singer / actress Mandy Moore's son)

📛August Brooksbank (Princess Eugenie & businessman Jack Brooksbank's son)

📛August James May (comedian Ralphie May's son)

📛August Brooks (singer Garth Brook's daughter)

📛August Zuckerberg (Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's daughter)

📛August Cage (actor Nicolas Cage's daughter)

📛August DeWindt  (food content creator)  

   

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛August:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/A/AU/AUGUST/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛August: 👍 OR 💙💙💙💙💙💓/10

The Origin of How July Was Named After Julius Caesar

🎉Happy Julius!📛 doesn't have the same 🔔ring to it like 🎉Happy July!📅   

The month of July is named for Roman ruler Julius Caesar: Quintilis, which was his birth month, was renamed July when he died. Quintilis means “fifth month” in Latin, which represents where this month originally fell in the Roman calendar. 

The name 📛Julius is Latin and means 'youthful, downy-bearded' and possibly derived from  Greek ἴουλος (ioulos). Behind the Name explains Julius could be related to the Roman god Jupiter. 

Julius was #389 in popularity for baby boys to be named in 2024. California and Washington D.C. are the states that have the most men named Julius.  

I like the name 📛Julius mainly for the association with Julius Caesar, but outside of that, Julius is still a strong, solid name. But I admit... I prefer the name 📛Julian.  Nameberry says: "Julian derived from Iulianus, which in turn came from the Roman family name, Julius." So Julian is like Julius' cool cousin then? 👌🏾  

📑📌Check out this great 📄piece by 📛name expert 🤓 Dr. Cleveland Evans: 🗞Julius, popularized after Caesar's death, has experienced ebbs and flows over centuries  

📌👀Reddit 📛namenerds🤓 Community Thread: "Julius vs. Julian?"

https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/v96gy2/julius_vs_julian/

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛JULIUSES:

📛Julius Erving 🏀 (NBA basketball player)

📛Julius Dubose 🎙 (rapper stage name: A Boogie wit da Hoodie)

📛Julius "Snuffy" Margulies 🖼 /💉(artist & tattooist)

📛Julius Avery 🎥 (director)

♀️Female Version of 📛JULIUS:

📛Julia

💭I like the feminine form of Julius. Julianna can be considered a female form of Julius too. I like it a bit more than Julia as I like how Julianna sounds and looks. Even though Julia is a pretty popular name, I've only known one personally. 🤔  

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Julius

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/J/JU/JULIUS/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Julius: 👍 OR 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙/10  

NAME OF THE DAY: June

Today is June 19th (Happy Juneteenth!🎉) so I decided to delve into the name: June   

The name June obviously comes from the month of June. In ancient Roman times, Juno the goddess of fertility, was so important that the month of June was named after her.  

June is primarily a female name meaning 'young' but it surprisingly can be used for males! Nameberry says on this rare usage: "As a masculine name, June has never been common in the United States but represents the tradition of month names used for boys (like August and March). The name carries associations with early summer, warmth, and new beginnings. For men, June offers a gentle, nature-connected alternative to more conventional masculine names. Its simplicity, single syllable, and familiar quality make it accessible despite being unconventional for males in contemporary usage."

I never knew June was used for baby boys. 😮 And I actually like hearing June as a male name because it's so uncommon. 

🌺Hawaii is the state where you're most likely to meet someone named June. Out of 100k Hawaiians 103.48 are named June. I'm not so surprised because of the state's sunny, warm weather so frequently, and June is a 🌞sunny, warm month on average so it probably the best for a month name (over April, May, July or August) for such qualities. But I would have guessed California over it first. 

I like the name June just fine. It has that old-fashioned feel to it. I personally really love month names (January & October are my favs) 🙋🏾‍♀️ and 📛June📅 is definitely a classic.   

📌Check out this great 📄piece via American Name Society by 📛name expert 🤓 Dr. Cleveland Evans: 🗞June seeing revival, rise in popularity as a baby name 

📑📌A discussion by 📛name consultant 🤔 Morgan Timm on June being a popular middle name:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hafKeQ62e6U

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛JUNES:

📛June Ambrose 👩🏾 (fashion stylist & designer)

📛June Cleaver 📺  (T.V. show character on Leave It To Beaver)

📛June Lockhart 🎥 (movie actress in 🐕 Lassie )

📛June Duck 🦆 (cartoon character, triplet sister of April & May & daughter of Daisy)

📛June Jones 👴(football coach)  

📛June 📺 (T.V. show character on Reckless)

📛June Freud 🎥 (movie actress)

📛June Diane Raphael 🎥 / 😂 (actress / comedienne)

📛June Steenkamp 🗣 (women's rights South African activist & mother of late model Reeva Steenkamp)

📛April June May (daughter of late comedian Ralphie May)

📛June White 📔 (main character in Love Me, Love Me YA novel)

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛June:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/J/JU/JUNE/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛June: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💙💙💙/10