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How to get the month name from a date in Excel and Google Sheets
Excel & Google Sheets
=TEXT(A2,"mmmm")Try it with your data
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Step by step
- 1Enter your date in A2.
- 2For the full month name (January, February, etc.), enter =TEXT(A2,"mmmm").
- 3For the abbreviated name (Jan, Feb), use =TEXT(A2,"mmm").
- 4To get the month as a number, use =MONTH(A2).
- 5Combine with YEAR for a label: =TEXT(A2,"mmmm yyyy") returns 'January 2024'.
Tips
- To get the month name from just a month number (not a date), use TEXT with a synthetic date: =TEXT(DATE(2000,A2,1),"mmmm") where A2 holds the month number 1-12.
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Frequently asked
Can I get the month name in a different language?
The language depends on your spreadsheet's locale. In Google Sheets you can use the TEXT function with locale-specific format codes. In Excel, month names follow the Windows system locale.
How do I sort data by month name alphabetically vs. chronologically?
TEXT returns text, which sorts alphabetically (April before January). To sort chronologically, sort by the MONTH() number in a helper column instead.