In the Gregorian calendar, January is the first month of the year. It is a time of new beginnings and the start of lighter days. Here are just a few names that are associated with this month.
January
The name of the month comes from the Roman god Janus, to whom the month was dedicated. Appropriately, he was the god of beginnings and was associated with the sun. January's many continental translations include: Enero (Spanish), Gennaio (Italian) Janeiro (Portuguese), Januar (German), Janvier (French) and Leden (Czech).
Wolf
The Anglo-Saxons called January Wulfmonath because it was a time when wolves came into the villages in winter in search of food. In Scots Gaelic it is called Faoilleach, derived from fael "wolf" which is also found in the names Faolan and Faolchu.
The Greek Λυκος (lykos) "wolf" is found in the names Lykos/Lycus, Lykaon/Lycaon, Lykomedes/Lycomedes "thought of a wolf," Lykophron/Lycophron "wolf minded," and Lykourgos/Lycurgus "deed of a wolf". Lupus is the Latin word for "wolf" and was borne by several early saints. Its french form is Loup, while the Spanish is Lope (also found as Guadalope "river of the wolf"). A further connection is J.K.Rowling's Remus Lupin; both of his names relating to wolves.
The Germanic element wulf and the cognate Norse úlfr "wolf" is found in a multitude of names including Adalwolf / Adolf / Adolphus "noble wolf," Arnulf "eagle wolf," Gerulf "wolf spear," Ludolf "famous wolf," Radulf / Ralph "wolf council," Randolf "wolf sheild," Rudolf "wolf fame," Sandulf / Sandalio "true wolf," Wolfgang "wolf path," Wolfram "wolf raven", Wulfric "wolf power."
Other wolf names include: Bleddyn (Welsh), Valko (Bulgarian), Ylva (Norwegian) and Zev, Zeev, Zeeb (Hebrew).
Winter
Charlemagne referred to January as Wintarmanoth -- the winter month. In Britain, and the northern hemisphere in general, January is typically the coldest month of the year. Winter, and the spelling variation Wynter, have been in use a surname, and consequently a unisex first name, since the Middle Ages.
Oak and Birch
In Finland, January is called Tammikuu, the month of the oak. Tammi "oak" is also found as a surname in Finland. Other "oak" names include Alon, Allon, Elon, Alona (Hebrew), Ametza (Basque), Ąžuolas (Lithuanian) and Dubravko "oak grove" (Serbian).
According to the modernised Celtic Tree Calendar the period from December 24 - January 20 is represented by the Birch tree. The Celtic name for this period is Beth, but there is also Björk in Icelandic, Visa in Finnish, and the surname Barclay "birch wood".
Symbols
Garnet is considered the birthstone for January, while the Snowdrop and Carnation are the month's flower. The Latin name for the snowdrop is Galanthus Nivalis -- nivalis meaning "snow-like" in Latin. Eirlys in Welsh and Endzela in Georgian are both cognate names used for girls. The Latin name for the carnation is Dianthus caryophyllus. Dianthus derives from the Greek Διος (Dios) "Zeus" and ανθος (anthos) "flower" and is also found in the name Diantha.
In the Victorian language of flowers the snowdrop represents hope and consolation, while pink carnations represent woman's love.
Capricorn, the goat constellation, is the astrological sign that runs from December 22 - January 19. Its name derives from the Latin caper "goat" and cornu "horn." According to Greek mythology, the minor god Aigipan/Aegipan disguised himself in the form of a fish-tailed goat. When he later came to the aid of Zeus, the god had him placed among the stars as a constellation.
The Latin Aegidius/Egidius "young goat" is Anglicised as Giles, with Aegidia/Egidia and Gilia as feminine forms.
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 January around the world.
1 = Almachius, Basil / Vasilis, Fanchea, Felix, Odilo, Solvita, Zdislava
2 = Abel / Aapeli, Alexandra, Basil, Gregory, Ivo, Munchin, Seraphim, Stefanija, Svea
3 = Alfred, Bertilia, Daniela, Elmer, Elmo, Enoch, Florentius, Genevieve / Genoveva, Radmila, Ulyana
4 = Anastasia, Angela, Angelika, Elizabeth, Leona / Leonia, Roger, Ruth / Rut / Ruut, Titus
5 = Andrea, Edward, Emilia / Emiliana, Evgenia, Hanna, Klavdia, Lea, Simeon, Telesphorus
6 = Epiphany = Melchior, Balthasar, Caspar, Andre, Fotini, Harry, Jordan, Rafaelo
7 = Aidric / Aldric, August, Augusta, Isidore, Kanute / Knud, Lucian / Luciano, Raymond, Valentin / Valentine
8 = Albert, Atticus, Erhard, Gudula, Gunnar, Lucian, Pega, Severin
9 = Adrian, Alice / Alessia / Alix, Basilissa, Gunnar, Julian, Marciana, Veli
10 = Agathon, Gregory, Melania, Paul, Peter, Sigurd, Sigmund, William
11 = Honorata, Hortense, Kari, Paulina, Paulinus, Theodosius, Thomas
12 = Aelred, Antonia, Benedict, Caesaria, Ernest, Reinhold, Tatiana
13 = Godfrey, Hilary, Ivetta / Yvette, Kentigern, Knut, Veronica
14 = Bianca, Cyril, Felix, Macrina / Makrina, Nina, Odo, Radovan
15 = Alexander, Ceolwulf, Ita, Laura, Mauro, Solja, Tarsicia
16 = Fursa, Ilmar, James, Kristina, Lida, Marcel / Marcello, Priscilla
17 = Anthony, Beatrice, Nadia, Iolanda, Roseline / Roselina
18 = Hilda, Laura, Liberata, Margaritta, Prisca, Ulfrid
19 = Andrew, Henry / Henrik, Lidia, Maria, Marius / Mario, Martha, Sara, Wulstan
20 = Fabian, Sebastian, Ursula
21 = Agnes, Edward, Inez, Maksim / Maximus
22 = Anastasius / Anastazy, Dominic, Esmeralda, Laura, Urban, Vincent
23 = Bernard, Clement, Emerentiana, Freja, Margaret, Raymond
24 = Cadoc, Francis, Timothy, Xenia / Senja / Ksenia
25 = Apollo, Gregory, Margaret, Paul, Tatyana
26 = Jonatan, Paula / Pauline, Timothy, Titus, Zora
27 = Angela, Julian, Lupus, Marius, Nina
28 = Giles, Karl, Karla / Karoline, Leonidas, Roger, Thomas
29 = Diana, Sabina, Serena, Valerius, Valter
30 = Gunhild, Hyacintha / Jacinthe, Martina
31 = Aidan / Aedhan, Cyrus, Ignatius, Ivan / John, Ksenia, Marcella
