Origins of the Days of the Week

Where did the names of the days of the week come from? The names originated with the ancient Romans, who used the Latin words for the Sun, the Moon, and the five known planets! Our English names also reflect the influence of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples). Learn all about the days of the week origins.

In naming the seven days of the week as checkpoints in time, the ancient Romans choose seven celestial bodies that could be seen with the naked eye: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. For example, “Sunday” is the Sun’s day and “Monday” is the Moon’s day.

When it comes to the English names that we use today for days of the week, we can also see the influence of the Anglo-Saxons and the old German gods. For example, “Wednesday ” comes from Woden, the Anglo-Saxon king of the gods; in Saxon, the name is “Wodnesdaeg.” (Now you know why Wednesday is spelled that way!)

See more about the origins of the days of the week across multiple languages here: Origins of Weekly Days