February is the shortest month of the year; the only month, in fact, to have fewer than 30 days. It is also unique for its extra leap year day every four years.
February
The name of the month comes from the Roman festival of Februa, which was a purification ritual that took place in mid-February. The month was later dedicated to the Roman god Februum who was similarly associated with purification. It was also to be a time of heightened fertility, and so was also associated with Juno, goddess of marriage, who bore the epithets Februata, Februta, Februarius and Februatis.
February has many continental translations, including: Febbraio (Italian), Febrero (Spanish), Februar (German), Fevereiro (Portuguese), Février (French), Únor (Czech) and Veljača (Croatian)
Mud, Cakes and Cabbages
The Anglo-Saxons called February Solmonath. Monath is the Old English word for "month" while sol translates as "Mud" -- literally "Mud Month." Given the weather in Britain at this time of year, the name seems wholly appropriate. And it isn't the only "mud month." The Finnish name for October, Lokakuu, also translates this way. Some believe the first element as actually sól "sun," as February is a time when the days become noticeably lighter, although sol can also refer to a halter used for leading cattle. As ploughing often takes place in February, this also has possibilities.
According to Bede, the month could be called the "month of cakes," which were offered up to the gods, most likely in a bid to ensure their (muddy) fields were fertile. Names associated with fertile land include: Rodica in Romanian; Dáiríne, and the unisex Dáire, from the Old Irish dáire meaning fertile or fruitful, and anglicised as Darina; and the Welsh Iâl "fertile upland", from which the surname Yale is derived.
The Anglo-Saxons also called the month Sprote-Kalemonath, the month of the sprouting kale/cabbages. Cabbage (or Capitata in Latin) has many varieties including Earliana, Promosa, Red Rodan, Savoy Ace and Scarlet O'Hara.
Horn
Charlemagne called February Hornung, referring to the shedding of the deers' antlers at this time. Antler itself has a bold sound, while "horn" names can be found in that of the Celtic god Cernunnus, and the Hebrew Keren. The Roman nomen Cornelius (feminine Cornelia) was mostly likely derived from cornu "horn." Variant forms include Corneille (French), Cornelio (Spanish), Kornel (Slavic), Kees and Niels (Czech).
Similarly, there are several names that have "deer" meanings. Tzvi or Zvi is a modern Hebrew boys name meaning "deer" with Tzivya, or Zivya as the feminine form. The Old Testament also gives us an older form of Zibiah. Hersh, or Hirsh, is the Yiddish equivalent, which can also be found in the forms Hershel, Hirshel and Herschel. From the Old Irish oss "deer" derive the names Oisin, Ossan, Ossnat/Osnait, and Oscar.
Hjörtur (Icelandic), Isi (Choctaw), Jelena (Slavic) and Maral (Armenian) all have the meaning "deer." And then there are the surnames Darby "deer town" from Old Norse, and Raleigh "roe-dear meadow" from Old English.
Pearls
In Finland, February is called Helmikuu, the month of pearl. One theory has it that it is so called because as ice melts and refreezes, it forms pearls of ice on the trees. Helmi "pearl" is also found as a feminine name in Finland. Pearl, of course, has long precedence as a first name, with cognates Perla in Italian and Spanish, and Perle in Yiddish. But perhaps our most well known "pearl" name is Margaret, which derives from the Latin Margarita, via the Greek Margarites (from which we also get the Hebrew Margalit), and, ultimately, the Persian Morvarid. Margaret has nearly a hundred variations and diminutives; too many to list here. But some to mention are Magali (Provencial), Mairead (Scottish), Margaux, Marguerite (French), Marit (Swedish), Mererid (Welsh) and Merete (Danish).
Other pearl names include: Bisera (Bulgarian), Jumana, Lu'lu (Arabic), and Shinju (Japanese).
Symbols
Amethyst is the birthstone for February and is said to symbolise purity, modesty and sincerity. The Violet and Primrose are the month's flower. Violet derives from the Latin viola, of which Shakespeare used Viola, while Verdi used Violetta.
Aquarius, the water-bearer, is the astrological sign that runs from January 20 - February 19. Its name derives from the Latin aqua "water," the Greek form being Hydrokhoos, from hydro "water" and kheo "to pour." The constellation is identified with Ganymede, the Trojan prince carried off by Zeus to become cup-bearer of the gods. One girl, born in 1879, is recorded with the name Aquariana.
Name Days
Many different countries have names associated with days of the year; most often they are the feast days of saints. Below are some of the names associated with the days in February around the world.
1 = Bridget / Brigitta, Ignatius, Kinnea, Maximilian, Simeon, Trifon / Tryphon, Verdiana / Veridiana
2 = Candlemas = Candelaria, Candelario, Cande, Candela
3 = Ansgar, Blaise, Disa, Hugo, Margaret, Oscar, Simeon, Valo
4 = Andreas, Armi, Gilbert, Isidore, Jarmila, Joan / Joanna, Veronica / Veronika
5 = Adelheid / Adelhajda, Agatha, Albin, Ingrid, Vitus
6 = Amando / Amandus, Dorothea / Dorothy, Ksenia, Paul, Svetlana, Titus
7 = Eugenia / Eugenie, Helena, Richard, Romuald, Ronan, Theodorus / Todor
8 = Corintha, Honorata, Jacqueline, Jerome, Laina, Zachariah, Zoja
9 = Anna-Katharina, Apollonia, Nicephorus, Raisa, Savin
10 = Charalambos, Ella / Ellen, Elvira, Gabriel, Scholastica, William, Zoticus
11 = Desiderius, Euphrosyne, Inge, Lourdes, Theodora, Theodor
12 = Benedict, Elma, Eulalia, Evelina, Felix, Julian, Lidia / Livia
13 = Béatrice, Benignus, Castor, Catherine (di Ricci), Christina / Kristina, Roger
14 = Cyril, Liliana, Valentine / Valentin, Voitto
15 = Faustinus / Faust / Faustyn, Giorgia / Georgina / Jirina, Jordan, Jovita, Sigfrid
16 = Daniel, Elias, Isaias, Jeremy, Juliana, Kai, Onesimus, Samuel
17 = Alexandra, Alexis, Donatus, Finnian, Fintan, Miroslava
18 = Bernadette, Colman, Concordia, Constantia, Frida, Simon, Tyra
19 = Conrad, Gabinus / Gabin, Susanna / Zuzanna
20 = Aimée, Eucharius, Leon, Ulrich, Vivianne
21 = Damian, Daniel, Eleonora, Peter, Samuel
22 = Ariana, Hilda, Isabella, Margaret, Peter
23 = Polykarpos, Romana, Severinus, Torsten
24 = Ethelbert, Gerard, Matthias, Modeste
25 = Caesarius / Cesario, Tarasios, Victor, Walburga
26 = Alexander, Inger, Justus, Nestor, Pastor, Sebastian
27 = Honorina, Gabriel, Leander, Torsten
28 = Justus, Kyra, Maria / Mariana, Oswald, Roman
29 = Auguste, Casianos, Oswald
'Twas Ever Thus...
The Victorians really did love their commemorative names. And while it may be intriguing for us, it seems to have bemused many of their contemporaries. This excerp is taken from the Gleanings of Berrow's Worcester Journal in 1885.
EVENT NAMES FOR CHILDREN
In the quarter following the battle of Alma, five hundred and nineteen children, males as well as females, received Alma as a Christian name. Balaklava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol also speedily gave their names to English infants, and one Seige Sebastopol was registered. The acquisition of the island in the Mediterranean during the year 1878 was the means of introducing Cyprus into English personal nomenclature; and to pass a later date still, a labourer's boy, born at Sawston, Cambridgeshire, in September 1882, was named Tel-el-Kebir. Political events, as well as military, find their reflection in names. Charter is a recorded appellation recalling the popular movement of 1848, and Reform is also an existing denomination.
In a birth-register of 1882, appears as the personal designation of a certain Mrs. Thorpe, who became mother at that time, the startling name Leviathon. The good lady, it is stated, was born or named at the time of the launching of Brunel's monster steam-ship, which was at first so called, though it has since been known as the Great Eastern. A little girl, daughter of a hoop-maker, born early in the last-named year at Rye, in Sussex, received the name Jumbo, presumably in commemoration of the regretted departure of the zoological favourite from Regent's Park to America.
-- EDWARD WHITAKER, in Good Words.
Berrow's Worcester Journal
(Worcester, England), June 13, 1885
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