Arabic names of calendar months

The Arabic names of calendar months of the Gregorian calendar are usually phonetic Arabic pronunciations of the corresponding month names used in European languages. An exception is the Aramaic calendar used in Iraq and the Levant, which names most of its Gregorian months after Aramaic names for months of the Babylonian calendar that occur at roughly the same time of year.[1]

The Gregorian calendar is and has been used in nearly all the countries of the Arab world, in many places long before European occupation of some of them . Currently, all Arab states except Saudi Arabia (which uses the Islamic calendar for all purposes) use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes . The names of the Gregorian months as used in Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen are widely regarded as standard across the Arab world , although the Syro-Mesopotamian names are often used alongside them . In other Arab countries some modification or actual changes in naming or pronunciation of months were observed. The names of the Gregorian calendar months in the different countries of the Arab world were as follows:

Levant and Mesopotamia

These names are used primarily in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. These months are likely derived from the Aramaic names of the Babylonian calendar, and many are cognate with the names of the approximately equivalent months of the Hebrew calendar.

Nine of these names were used in the Ottoman Rumi calendar, of which five remain in use in modern Turkish.

No. Month Arabic name Transliteration Hebrew cognate
1 January كانون الثاني Kānūn ath-Thānī
2 February شباط Shubāṭ Shevat
3 March آذار Ādhār Adar
4 April نيسان Nīsān Nisan
5 May أيار Ayyār Iyar
6 June حزيران Ḥazīrān / Ḥuzayrān
7 July تموز Tammūz Tammuz
8 August آب Āb Av
9 September أيلول Aylūl Elul
10 October تشرين الأول Tishrīn al-Awwal Tishrei
11 November تشرين الثاني Tishrīn ath-Thānī
12 December كانون الأول Kānūn al-Awwal

Egypt, Sudan, Arabia (All Gulf countries)

No. Month Arabic name Transliteration Egyptian pronunciation
1 January يناير Yanāyir [jæ'næːjer]
2 February فبراير Fibrāyir [febˈɾˤɑːjeɾ]
3 March مارس Māris [ˈmæːɾes]
4 April أبريل / إبريل Abrīl / Ibrīl [ʔebˈɾiːl, ʔæb-]
5 May مايو Māyū [ˈmæːjo]
6 June يونيو / يونية Yūniyū / Yūniyya [ˈjonjæ, -jo]
7 July يوليو / يولية Yūliyū / Yūliyya [ˈjoljæ, -jo]
8 August أغسطس Aghusṭus [ɑˈɣostˤos, oˈ-]
9 September سبتمبر Sibtambir [sebˈtæmbeɾ, -ˈtem-, -ˈtɑm-]
10 October أكتوبر Uktūbar [okˈtoːbɑɾˤ, ek-, ɑk-]
11 November نوفمبر Nūfambir [noˈvæmbeɾ, -ˈvem-, -ˈfæm-,
-ˈfem-, -ˈvɑm-, -ˈfɑm-]
12 December ديسمبر Dīsambir [deˈsæmbeɾ, -ˈsem-, -ˈsɑm-]

Libya (1969–2011)

The names of months used in Libya were derived from various sources, and were assembled after Muammar al-Gaddafi's seizure of power in 1969 and abolished after the 17 February 2011 revolution. The decision of changing calendar names was adopted in June 1986.[2] Although the Libyan calendar follows the same sequence of the (renamed) Gregorian months, it counts the years from the death of the prophet Muhammad.[3] This reckoning is therefore ten years behind the solar hegira used in Afghanistan and Persia.

No. Month Arabic name Transliteration Meaning[4]
1 January أي النار Ayy an-Nār which of the fires
2 February النوار an-Nuwwār the mornings
3 March الربيع ar-Rabī‘ the spring/fall
al-Mirrij was also used[5]
4 April الطير aṭ-Ṭayr the bird
5 May الماء al-Mā’ the water
6 June الصيف aṣ-Ṣayf the summer
7 July ناصر Nāṣir from Gamal Abd el-Nasser
8 August هانيبال Hānībāl from Hannibal
9 September الفاتح al-Fātiḥ the lightened
10 October التمور / الثمور at-Tumūr / ath-Thumūr the dates
11 November الحرث al-Ḥarth the tillage
12 December الكانون al-Kānūn the canon

Algeria and Tunisia

The names of the Gregorian months in Algeria and Tunisia are based on the French names of the months, reflecting France's long colonisation of these countries (1830-1962, in Algeria and 1881-1956 in Tunisia). The original French names are therefore listed below.

No. Month Arabic name Transliteration French name
1 January جانفي Jānfī Janvier
2 February فيفري Fīfrī Février
3 March مارس Mārs / Māris Mars
4 April أفريل Afrīl Avril
5 May ماي Māy Mai
6 June جوان Juwān Juin
7 July جويلية Juwīliyya Juillet
8 August أوت Ūt Août
9 September سبتمبر Sibtambir Septembre
10 October أكتوبر Uktūbir Octobre
11 November نوفمبر Nūfambir Novembre
12 December ديسمبر Dīsambir Décembre

Morocco

As Morocco was long part of the Roman Empire, the long-standing agricultural Berber calendar of the country preserves the Julian calendar and (in modified form) the names of its months. There are regional variations of the Berber calendar, since some communities did not recognise the Julian 29 February in century years where the Gregorian calendar had no equivalent date. When Morocco adopted the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes, the names of the months were taken from this local tradition.

No. Month Arabic name Transliteration
1 January يناير Yannāyir
2 February فبراير Fibrāyir
3 March مارس Mārs
4 April أبريل Ibrīl
5 May مايو Māyū
6 June يونيو Yūniyū
7 July يوليوز Yūliyū
8 August غشت Ghusht
9 September شتمبر Shutambir
10 October أكتوبر Uktūbir
11 November نونبر Nuwanbir
12 December دجمبر Dujambir

References

  1. The months of the Gregorian (Christian) calendar in various languages: Arabic
  2. "Libya Changes Names Of Months On Calendar - Sun Sentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. Agence France-Presse. 1986-06-23. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  3. "ACM: Months". Library.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  4. "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - الموقع غير الرسمى للقنصلية الليبية بالاسكندرية". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  5. "Tratamiento del árabe". Conf-dts1.unog.ch. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
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