The full moon names most people use come from North American almanacs: January's Wolf Moon, February's Snow Moon, March's Worm Moon, April's Pink Moon, May's Flower Moon, June's Strawberry Moon, July's Buck Moon, August's Sturgeon Moon, September's Corn or Harvest Moon, October's Hunter's Moon, November's Beaver Moon and December's Cold Moon. Each one points at something happening in the northern landscape that month. The list is a blend of sources rather than any one people's calendar, and two of the names follow the equinox instead of the month.
The twelve names at a glance
- January, Wolf Moon. Explained by almanacs as the season when wolves were heard most. Also called the Old Moon or Ice Moon.
- February, Snow Moon. Often the snowiest stretch of winter across the northern United States and Canada. Sometimes the Hunger Moon, for the lean weeks before spring.
- March, Worm Moon. For earthworms surfacing as the ground thaws, or, in one older account, beetle larvae emerging from tree bark. Also the Crow Moon or Sap Moon.
- April, Pink Moon. Named for moss pink, an early wildflower, not for the color of the Moon.
- May, Flower Moon. Spring bloom at its height.
- June, Strawberry Moon. Wild strawberries ripen in eastern North America.
- July, Buck Moon. Male deer are growing new antlers.
- August, Sturgeon Moon. Late summer was a good time to catch the big sturgeon of the Great Lakes.
- September, Corn Moon or Harvest Moon. Corn coming in, plus the equinox rule explained below.
- October, Hunter's Moon. Game fattening for winter, fields cleared for tracking.
- November, Beaver Moon. Beavers sealing themselves into their lodges before the freeze, and in the older explanation, the time to set traps.
- December, Cold Moon. Winter tightening its grip during the longest nights. Also the Long Night Moon.
Where the list actually comes from
Many Indigenous nations in North America kept time by moons, but what they named were lunar months, the stretch from one moon to the next, not individual full moons. The names varied by nation, region and language. Two calendars kept a thousand miles apart would not have matched each other, let alone the list printed on a kitchen calendar.
European missionaries and travelers wrote down versions of these month names in the eighteenth century. The explorer Jonathan Carver printed a list in his 1778 travel book that many of the modern names trace back to, although it is unclear exactly where he got them or how carefully they were translated. Colonists also brought European moon names with them. In the twentieth century, farmers' almanacs blended these strands into a neat set of twelve, and the Old Farmer's Almanac version is the one most widely repeated today. The almanac itself now says the Wolf Moon, for one, probably came over with European settlers rather than from a Native source.
So the fair description is "traditional North American almanac names": partly Indigenous month names as recorded by outsiders, partly colonial and European custom, tidied up by publishers. If you want to learn a particular nation's moon calendar, look for that nation's own language or cultural programs, many of which publish theirs.
Why the Harvest Moon breaks the pattern
Most of the names are tied to a calendar month. The Harvest Moon isn't. It is defined as the full moon nearest the September equinox, which means it usually falls in September but in some years lands in early October. When that happens, September's full moon is called the Corn Moon and October's becomes the Harvest Moon. The Hunter's Moon is always the next full moon after the Harvest Moon, which can push it into early November.
The equinox rule exists because of something you can see. Around the autumn equinox, at mid-northern latitudes, the full moon rises only a little later each evening instead of the usual fifty minutes or so, which gives several bright evenings in a row just after sunset. We explain the geometry in our guide to the Harvest Moon meaning, and the follow-up full moon in Hunter's Moon meaning.
Thirteen full moons, blue moons and the southern sky
The Moon's cycle of phases averages about 29.5 days, so twelve cycles take roughly 354 days, about eleven days short of a calendar year. Most years have twelve full moons, but every two or three years there are thirteen, and the extra one needs a home. That is where the blue moon comes in. Under the popular rule it is the second full moon in one calendar month. Under the older almanac rule it is the third of four full moons in a single season.
The names also assume northern seasons. In Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Argentina, a "Snow Moon" in February rises over the height of summer. Southern stargazers often shift the seasonal names by six months, so their Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest the March equinox. There is no single agreed southern list, and plenty of people simply use the names that match what is happening outside their own window.
Other calendars that follow the full moon
North American almanac names are one tradition among many. Several living calendars are built on the Moon, and their full moons carry their own names and festivals:
- The Chinese lunisolar calendar. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month, at or near the full moon, with family gatherings and mooncakes. Korea's Chuseok falls on the same lunar date.
- Hindu calendars. The full-moon day of each month, Purnima, has its own name and observances, among them Guru Purnima in midsummer and Sharad Purnima in autumn.
- Buddhist calendars. Many Buddhist communities keep observance days at the full moon, and Vesak, which in many traditions marks the Buddha's birth, awakening and death, falls on a full moon in spring.
- The Jewish calendar. Months begin near the new moon, so Passover and Sukkot, which start on the 15th of their months, begin at or near a full moon.
- The Islamic calendar. A purely lunar calendar whose months begin with the new crescent, so the full moon falls mid-month. The three middle days are traditionally a time for voluntary fasting.
None of these use the almanac names, and none of them is more correct than the others. They are different ways of keeping time by the same bright object.
How to use the names without overthinking them
The names work best as a prompt to look around. When the Worm Moon rises, is the ground in your yard actually soft yet? Is anyone selling strawberries at the farm stand when the Strawberry Moon comes up? A full moon name is a small invitation to notice your own season, which may run weeks ahead of or behind the almanac depending on where you live.
Some households keep their own list instead: the moon the tomatoes split, the moon the school bus came back, the moon the furnace first kicked on. That's not a lesser version of the tradition. It's how the tradition started.
For dates, our full moon calendar lists the next twelve full moons with their traditional names and the zodiac sign each one falls in. If you like to mark the night with something simple, our full moon ritual guide keeps it to a few minutes, and The Moon card, the tarot's picture of night and instinct, has its own page among our tarot card meanings.
Questions readers ask
Are the full moon names Native American?
Partly and loosely. Some come from Indigenous month names as recorded by European and colonial writers, often without saying which nation they came from. Others, like the Wolf Moon, appear to be European. The modern twelve-name list was standardized by almanacs, so it's best described as a North American almanac tradition.
Do the full moon names change in the Southern Hemisphere?
They should, if you want them to match the seasons, because the Southern Hemisphere's seasons run six months apart from the north's. Many southern stargazers shift the names by six months, so the Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest the March equinox. There's no official southern list.
Is a Pink Moon or a Strawberry Moon actually that color?
No. The names refer to a flower and a fruit, not the Moon's appearance. Any full moon can look orange or reddish when it's low on the horizon, because you're seeing it through more of Earth's atmosphere, and it turns pale again as it climbs.
What is the thirteenth full moon called?
It depends on the rule you use. Under the calendar-month rule, a second full moon in one month is called a blue moon. Under the older seasonal rule, the third full moon in a season with four is the blue moon, so the season's last full moon can keep its usual name.
