• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Who is the month of May named after and Where does the word May come from?

Who is the month of May named after and Where does the word May come from?

March 27, 2020 by Karen Hill

The month of May is believed to have been named in honor of a goddess Maia, but it is not certain which goddess was thus honored.

Among the Greeks the divinity so named was regarded as the mother of Hermes, whose father was Zeus.

It would have been strange, however, for the Romans to have placed the name of a Greek goddess in their calendar.

Late Roman writers, who may have been right, explained that Maia was the ancient name of Fauna, daughter or sister of Faunus, and that she was therefore the goddess of spring.

The Roman months were presumably named by Numa who was traditionally the successor of Romulus and who aided him in the founding of Rome. Numa was a member of the neighboring tribe of the Sabini, and he may have used the old Sabine name, Maia, later called Fauna by the Romans.

Some think that the ancient name was one of the various appellations of the great goddess whom the Romans usually referred to as Bona Dea, “the good goddess.”

Related Facts

  • How Was Rome Founded According To Roman Mythology and Why Were Romulus and Remus Abandoned By Amulius?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Where does the word “inaugurate” come from and What does inaugurate mean?
  • Who is Friday named after and Where does the word “Friday” come from?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “mausoleum” come from and Who is the mausoleum named after?
Next Post: Where does the word “money” (mint) come from and What does money mean in Latin? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy