Excel guide · 3 min read

How to get the month name from a date in Excel

Q: How do I convert a date to a month name in Excel?

Use =TEXT(A2,"mmmm") for the full name or =TEXT(A2,"mmm") for the three-letter version. Or apply the custom number format mmmm to keep the date.

Q: How do I convert a month number to a month name?

Wrap it in DATE: =TEXT(DATE(2026,A2,1),"mmmm"). Using TEXT on the bare number returns January for every value from 1 to 31.

Q: How do I get the month number from a date?

=MONTH(A2) returns 1 to 12. Use it for sorting and for SUMPRODUCT or SUMIFS totals by month.

Q: How do I show month and year from a date?

Use =TEXT(A2,"mmmm yyyy") for November 2026 or "mmm yy" for Nov 26.

Quick answerUse =TEXT(A2,"mmmm") for the full month name (January) or =TEXT(A2,"mmm") for the short one (Jan). To turn a month number like 9 into a name, build a date first: =TEXT(DATE(2026,9,1),"mmmm"). If you only want the cell to show the month while keeping the date, apply a custom number format of mmmm.

Sample data

Every result on this page was calculated from this sheet by the same spreadsheet engine the Cellwise app uses.

	A	B	C	E	F
1	Date	Supplier	Amount	Month number	9
2	Jan 14, 2026	Office Depot	312.4
3	Feb 3, 2026	Adobe	89.99
4	Feb 27, 2026	FedEx	146.2
5	Mar 9, 2026	Office Depot	228.75
6	Mar 21, 2026	Dell	1149
7	Apr 30, 2026	Adobe	89.99

Full or short month name with TEXT

This is a small business expense log. TEXT formats the date with a code: mmmm is the full month, mmm the three-letter version. It works in every Excel version.

The result is text, so use it for labels and grouping, not for date math.

=TEXT(A3,"mmmm")

Result: February

February: the Adobe charge on February 3, 2026.

Month and year together

A month name alone mixes up January 2026 and January 2027. For reports that span more than a year, add the year in the same format code.

=TEXT(A6,"mmm yyyy")

Result: Mar 2026

Mar 2026: the short month name and the four-digit year.

Month number to month name

If you have just a number (from MONTH, a dropdown or an import), give TEXT a real date in that month. Any year and day 1 works, because only the month matters.

=TEXT(DATE(2026,F1,1),"mmmm")

Result: September

September, the name for month number 9 in F1.

The trap: TEXT on a bare number

Feeding the number straight into TEXT looks right but is wrong. Excel treats 9 as a date serial number: day 9 counted from January 1, 1900. That is January 9, 1900, so every number from 1 to 31 comes back as January.

=TEXT(F1,"mmmm")

Result: January

January, not September. Always wrap the number in DATE first.

Total spending by month

To total a month without a helper column, compare MONTH of each date inside SUMPRODUCT. Use the month number, not the name, so the formula does not depend on language settings.

If your log spans several years, add a year test too: =SUMPRODUCT((MONTH(A2:A7)=3)*(YEAR(A2:A7)=2026)*C2:C7).

=SUMPRODUCT((MONTH(A2:A7)=3)*C2:C7)

Result: 1377.75

1,377.75: the two March purchases, 228.75 and 1,149.

Show the month without changing the date

For a column that must still sort and filter as dates, change the display only. PivotTables can also group a date field by month for you: right-click a date in the PivotTable and choose Group > Months (and Years).

Select the date cells and press Ctrl+1.
Choose Custom and type mmmm (or mmm yyyy).
Click OK. The value is still the full date.

Common mistakes

Month names sort April, February, January

TEXT returns text, which sorts alphabetically. Sort by a MONTH(A2) helper column, keep real dates with a custom format, or use Data > Sort > Order > Custom List.

Every month shows as January

You applied TEXT or the mmmm format to month numbers 1-12, which Excel reads as days in January 1900. Use =TEXT(DATE(2026,A2,1),"mmmm").

Using "mm" and getting 02

mm is the two-digit month number. You need at least three m's for a name: mmm for Feb, mmmm for February. A fifth m (mmmmm) gives just the first letter, F.

Format codes ignored in a non-English Excel

TEXT codes follow your regional language, so German Excel uses MMMM for the month but JJJJ for the year. A custom number format is safer in shared workbooks because Excel translates it.

FAQ

How do I convert a date to a month name in Excel?

Use =TEXT(A2,"mmmm") for the full name or =TEXT(A2,"mmm") for the three-letter version. Or apply the custom number format mmmm to keep the date.

How do I convert a month number to a month name?

Wrap it in DATE: =TEXT(DATE(2026,A2,1),"mmmm"). Using TEXT on the bare number returns January for every value from 1 to 31.

How do I get the month number from a date?

=MONTH(A2) returns 1 to 12. Use it for sorting and for SUMPRODUCT or SUMIFS totals by month.

How do I show month and year from a date?

Use =TEXT(A2,"mmmm yyyy") for November 2026 or "mmm yy" for Nov 26.

Should I use TEXT or a custom format for month names?

Use a custom format when the column must still behave like dates (sorting, filtering, date math, charts on a time axis). Use TEXT when you need the month as a label inside another formula, a joined string or a grouping column.

Functions used

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Updated November 2, 2026