Why Is October Not 8? The Calendar Confusion Explained

It says “Octo” but it’s month number ten?

Okay. So you wake up one day, look at your calendar, and boom — it’s October. The word clearly starts with “Octo,” which, if you remember anything from high school Latin (or just, like, octopus), means EIGHT. But wait... October is the tenth month.

I remember blurting this out to my friend Jake over coffee once and he just blinked and said, "Bro… I thought about that once in the shower and it ruined my whole week." Same, Jake. Same.

So why is October not the eighth month? Let’s unpack this lovely little mess.

Blame the Romans (as usual)

The original Roman calendar was… chaotic

Back in ancient Rome — we’re talking around 750 BCE — their calendar only had 10 months. Yup, just ten. It started in March and ended in December. No January, no February. Wild, right?

Here’s how it looked:

1. Martius (March)

2. Aprilis (April)

3. Maius (May)

4. Junius (June)

5. Quintilis (FIFTH)

6. Sextilis (SIXTH)

7. September (SEVENTH)

8. October (EIGHTH)

9. November (NINTH)

10. December (TENTH)

So yeah, in that world, October was month number eight. Totally made sense back then.

Then came the calendar “upgrade” nobody asked for

At some point, the Romans realized a 10-month calendar just didn’t align with the solar year. So they added January and February — but here's the kicker: they added them to the beginning of the year, not the end.

Now, March became the third month instead of the first, bumping everything else down the line.

But — and here’s where it gets hilariously Roman — they didn’t bother to rename the months.

So October? Still named after the number 8… but now it’s month 10. Classic.

Why didn’t they just fix the names?

Bureaucracy. And probably ego.

Have you ever tried renaming anything official? People get mad. Now imagine changing the names of nationally recognized months, embedded in religion, rituals, farming schedules, and politics?

Also, you gotta remember — these names were based on the old gods, emperors, and Roman customs. When July was renamed after Julius Caesar and August after Augustus, they didn’t bother going back and tweaking the rest. The old numeric names? Meh, they stayed.

Honestly, I bet some senator back then raised the issue and someone else said, “Too complicated. Next.”

Okay but… why do we still use this broken system?

Because humans are terrible at changing stuff

I once used a totally janky spreadsheet system for budgeting for, like, four years. Why? Because I didn’t want to reformat the formulas.

That’s basically the story of calendars. The Gregorian calendar (which most of the world uses today) evolved from the Julian calendar, which came from the Roman one. And it kept the old month names. Because changing it would've meant changing everything — holidays, contracts, astrology, religious events, all of it.

So yeah, we live in a world where October, November, and December are months 10, 11, and 12… with names that mean 8, 9, and 10. Because inertia is stronger than logic, apparently.

Final thoughts: October isn’t broken, we just never fixed it

So if you’ve ever asked “Why is October not 8?” — congratulations, your brain is working. But also… welcome to the weird world of calendar history, where tradition beats common sense every time.

Honestly? I kind of love it. It’s one of those little quirks that remind you how old and messy human systems are. We live in a civilization built on habits and half-updates.

Next time you flip your calendar to October, just smile and whisper, “I know your secret.” And maybe tell a friend like I did with Jake. Ruin their week too — it’s fun.

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