How it works
This random month generator is a wheel of the 12 months, each with the same one in twelve chance. The winner comes with its length, its season in each hemisphere, its birthstones and its birth flowers. Tap June to August to spin one season only.
Read the full guide
Pick a random month for a plan or a story
Press Spin the wheel and read the card: October, 31 days, autumn north and spring south, opal and tourmaline, calendula. The two seasons matter to writers: a story set in Sydney in July is a winter story. Seasons are the meteorological kind, three whole months each. Tap Take winners off (Elimination) and each winner leaves the wheel, so twelve spins shuffle the whole year.
Why the last four months are numbered wrong
September to December come from the Latin for seven to ten, yet they are months 9 to 12, because the oldest Roman year began in March. July and August were Quintilis and Sextilis until they were renamed for Julius Caesar in 44 BC and Augustus in 8 BC.
- Make a fist: each knuckle is a 31-day month, each dip a shorter one, and July and August land on two knuckles.
- March and November always begin on the same weekday. In a common year February joins them, because 28 days is four weeks.
- Six months carry more than one birthstone on the American Gem Society list; all are shown. Birth flowers follow one common tradition; other lists differ.
Questions and answers
Does every month have the same chance?
Yes. The wheel has 12 equal slices, so each month comes up one time in twelve and February's short length makes no difference. A random day leans toward the long months: of the 1,461 days in four years, January holds 124 and February 113.
Did August get 31 days so it would match July?
No. The story says Augustus took a day from February so his month would be as long as Caesar's. The scholar Sacrobosco invented it in the 13th century. August was chosen for the honor because several of the emperor's victories fell in it.
Can you give me a random month with a year as well?
The wheel names the month only. For the year, open the random year generator and set the first and last year you will accept. For both from one press, the random date generator writes a full date inside any range you set.