THE MEANING & THE CONTEXT
The story behind January
January is recorded as a gender-inclusive or unspecified given name in Tagalog. The source gives a linguistic connection through English, specifically the form January.
The etymology is not settled. The explanation above keeps the source’s uncertainty rather than assigning a definite meaning.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /d͡ʒanjuˈwaɾi/Standard-Tagalog
- [d͡ʒɐnˈɲwaː.ɾɪ]Standard-Tagalog
- /djanjuˈwaɾi/no palatal assimilation
- [d̪jɐn̪.jʊˈwaː.ɾɪ]no palatal assimilation
Jan · ua · ry3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗English
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.jʊ.ə.ɹi/Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.jə.ɹi/Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.juˌɛɹi/US
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.juˌæɹi/US
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.jʉˌeːɹi/Australia
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.jəɹi/Australia
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.ɹi/Australia
- /ˈd͡ʒan.jʉuˌəɹi/Ireland
- /ˈd͡ʒæn.juˌwəɹi/Dublin
- /ˈdʒanwəri/South-Asia
- /ˈdʒan(j)ʊwəri/South-Asia
- /dʒən(ə)wəˈri/South-Asia
- /ˈd͡ʒɪnəˌwɛəɹi/obsolete
- /ˈd͡ʒɪnəˌweɪɹi/obsolete
Jan · u · ary3 source divisions
Janu · ary2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from English January, from Middle English Januarie, from Janevere, borrowed from Anglo-Norman genever, from Latin Iānuārius, from Iānus (“Janus”) + -ārius. Doublet of Enero.
a female given name from English; a male given name from English
Wiktionary: January (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Januarie, januari, re-latinised forms of Middle English Janevere, Ieneuer, from Anglo-Norman genever, from Latin Iānuārius (“(month) of Janus”), a compound of Iānus ("Janus") + -ārius (adjectival suffix), with the first element perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *yeh₂- (“to go”). Doublet of Gennaro.
A female given name transferred from the month name [in turn from English].
Wiktionary: January (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name January
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
January Isaac
Filipino actress
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
1
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: January Isaac
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
January in the birth records
Exact spelling, stated year, published top-ten tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Available publications: 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. No 2021 count is inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to January
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Januario♂Given name documented in Philippine-linked records; lexical meaning not established here
- Asgary·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Jaafar·Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Jamar·Etymology uncertain; see source accounts
- Jamhari·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Jana♀Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Janirey·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Janjan♂Short form of John and Jan
What rhymes with January?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore January further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q20088016 — January (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — January Isaac (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q20088016 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — January (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — January (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.