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The Month of August

August is the eighth month of the year, has 31 days, and is named after Augustus Caesar.

Field of bright red poppy flowers in summer day.

August's birth flower is Poppy.

August's birth flower is poppy.

©bigstockphoto.com/Madlen

August is the eighth month of the year in our modern day Gregorian calendar.

Naming August - Augustus Caesar

August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar and its predecessor, the Julian calendar. The month of August was originally named Sextilis in Latin since it was the sixth month in the ancient Roman calendar. The name of the month was changed to August in honor of Augustus Caesar in 8 BCE.

  • Latin name - Augustus mensis - Month of Augustus
  • Latin - sextilis mensis - Sixth month
  • Anglo-Saxons - Weod Monath - Weed month

History of August

August was originally Sextilis, the sixth month in the Roman calendar and consisted of 31 days. It became the eighth month with a length of 29 days around 700 BCE when January and February were added to the year. Julius Caesar added two days to the month around 45 BCE. It was later renamed to honor Augustus Caesar in 8 BCE.

Eighth Month in the Year

August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar and is 31 days long. It is considered the busiest time for tourism because it falls in the main school summer holiday period. It is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern hemisphere.

August does not start on the same day of the week as any other month in the year in common years, but ends on the same day of the week as November every year. During leap years, August starts on the same day as February and still ends on same day as November.

Birth Flower and Stone

Its birth flower is the gladiolus or poppy which represents beauty, strength, love, marriage and family.

The birthstone for August is the peridot or onyx.

Topics: Calendar, Months, August

In This Article

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The 12 Months of the Year

  1. January
  2. February
  3. March
  4. April
  5. May
  6. June
  7. July
  8. August
  9. September
  10. October
  11. November
  12. December

Months of the Year


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