How did July get its name?

July was named after Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman - and later dictator - who lived from 100 to 44 BC. The original name of the month was Quintilis, which means "fifth" in Latin. Quintilis was the fifth month of the original Roman calendar, which began in March.

The Julian calendar, which is the predecessor to the Gregorian calendar that we use today, was also named after Julius Caesar. The calendar underwent modifications with the addition of January and February, leading to the renaming of the original fifth and sixth months. As an homage to Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus, these months were respectively designated as July and August. To symbolize their significance, both July and August were endowed with 31 days.