Albanian Month Names and the Stories Behind Them

The Albanian calendar carries traces of the way people once understood the passing year. Its month names bring together Latin influence and Albanian words connected with the seasons and the work of the land.

To understand the Latin influence, it helps to start with the Roman calendar. Some Roman months were named after gods or rulers; others reflected their position in the year. The numbering behind September through December comes from an older ordering that counted from March, making them the seventh through tenth months.

Albanian adapted some Latin names and translated others. That is why shtator, tetor, nëntor, and dhjetor are built on the Albanian words for seven, eight, nine, and ten, even though they are now the ninth through twelfth months. Alongside these are names drawn from nature and farming, plus older regional terms that offer another glimpse of life through the seasons.

January — Janar

The year opens with janar, from the Latin Ianuarius, the month associated with Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and doorways. Janus was often depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. It is a fitting image for the beginning of a year, when we look back at what has passed and ahead to what is coming.

Older Albanian usage also gives us kallnor, found in forms such as kallnuer and kallënduor. This name is connected with the Latin calendarium. Both janar and kallnor therefore carry Latin influence, even though they sound quite different. Their coexistence shows how the calendar can preserve several layers of language history.

February — Shkurt

February brings a more direct description. Shkurt is connected with the Albanian word for “short,” neatly capturing the shortest month of the year. With 28 days in an ordinary year and 29 in a leap year, the month lives up to its name.

An older alternative is fror. The English name February follows the Latin Februarius, linked with Roman purification rites known as februa. The two naming traditions emphasize different things: the Roman name recalls a religious practice, while modern Albanian describes the month’s most obvious feature, its length.

March — Mars

March is mars, from the Latin Martius, the month named for Mars, the Roman god of war.

The older Albanian name lagëtur offers a more seasonal picture. It is associated with wetness, familiar in the Albanian adjective i lagët, “wet.” The name evokes damp ground and the change from winter into spring, capturing the character of a season through the weather people experienced.

April — Prill

April is prill, a name derived from the Latin Aprilis. Its relationship with the Roman month name is clear, but the deeper origin of Aprilis remains uncertain.

One traditional explanation connects it with the Latin verb aperire, “to open,” suggesting the opening of buds and flowers as spring develops. Another proposed connection is with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, possibly through Etruscan. Both remain theories. The Albanian name preserves a Latin inheritance whose earliest meaning is still debated.

May — Maj

May is maj, from the Latin Maius. The Roman name is commonly associated with Maia, a goddess linked with growth and the earth, although this etymology is not entirely certain.

That association suits a month of spring growth. Its connection with growth and the earth belongs to the proposed Roman background of the name. In modern Albanian, maj is the familiar name of the fifth month, carrying this older history into everyday speech.

June — Qershor

With June, the language turns toward the orchard. Qershor comes from qershi, meaning “cherry,” and is commonly understood as the month of cherries. The name connects the calendar with the fruit’s ripening season, making an ordinary date feel a little closer to the land.

The English name June follows another tradition, coming from the Latin Iunius, usually associated with Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and women. Albanian gives the month a seasonal identity of its own: a familiar fruit becomes the marker of a particular moment in the year.

July — Korrik

July follows with korrik, connected with the Albanian verb korr, “to reap” or “to harvest.” The verb refers to cutting crops or grass, including reaping grain. It gives the month’s name a clear connection with fieldwork and the gathering of crops.

The English name July honors Julius Caesar, after whom the Roman month Quintilis was renamed. Modern Albanian places the emphasis on the harvest. Following the cherries of qershor, korrik brings us into the fields, where the passing season is measured by the work that needs doing.

August — Gusht

August is gusht, from the Latin Augustus. The Roman month was renamed in honor of Emperor Augustus, giving the modern Albanian name an imperial connection alongside its place in the summer calendar.

An older Albanian name, djegagur, offers a more immediate image. Combining the ideas of burning and stone, it is often explained as “stone-burning.” The expression captures the force of summer heat, when even the stones seem to burn underfoot. It turns the feeling of a hot day into a name for a stretch of the year.

September — Shtator

September begins a pattern that continues through the end of the year. Its Albanian name, shtator, is formed from shtatë, “seven.” It follows the meaning of Latin September, from septem, using the Albanian number in place of the Latin one.

The name therefore follows the meaning of the Roman word, rather than simply adapting its sound. Britm is also recorded as an older name for September, although its origin is uncertain.

October — Tetor

October is tetor, from tetë, “eight.” Like Latin October, from octo, it recalls the month’s eighth position in the early Roman calendar. The name is a translation of the old numbering idea, expressed through an Albanian word.

An older name, vjeshtë, brings the season into focus. It is the Albanian word for autumn. While tetor tells us where the month once stood in the calendar, vjeshtë places it within the changing year, naming the season that surrounds it.

November — Nëntor

November is nëntor, from nëntë, “nine,” following Latin November, from novem. Like the months around it, its name preserves a number from the older Roman arrangement of the year.

The older name brymës offers a more seasonal association through brymë, “frost.” It calls to mind the thin white layer that can settle on grass and other cold surfaces, giving the month a distinctly wintry image.

November also carries a meaning that reaches beyond the season. On November 28, 1912, the assembly in Vlorë declared Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. Celebrated as Independence Day and Flag Day, the date gives nëntor a special place in Albanian history.

December — Dhjetor

December closes the year as dhjetor, formed from dhjetë, “ten.” It follows Latin December, from decem, completing the sequence of Albanian month names built around the numbers seven through ten.

Its older alternative, dimëror, comes from dimër, “winter,” and carries the sense of “winter-related” or “wintry.” The word is recorded both as an old name for December and as an adjective describing things connected with winter. One name preserves a place in the Roman calendar; the other describes the season in which the year comes to a close.

These older terms belong to different regions and periods, rather than one uniform alternative calendar. Their variety is part of their interest. Some describe the weather; others reflect farming or preserve traces of contact with other languages.

For anyone learning Albanian or reconnecting with it, the month names offer a familiar place to begin. A word used to make a plan or write a date can also hold a glimpse of how earlier generations understood the year.