MONTH
Date & Time
Extracts the month from a date as a number from 1 (January) to 12 (December).
Translations
EnglishMONTH
FrenchMOIS
SpanishMES
GermanMONAT
ItalianMESE
PortugueseMÊS
DutchMAAND
PolishMIESIĄC
RussianМЕСЯЦ
TurkishAY
CzechMĚSÍC
HungarianHÓNAP
SwedishMÅNAD
DanishMÅNED
FinnishKUUKAUSI
Syntax
MONTH(serial_number)Arguments
serial_numberThe date to extract the month from
Examples
=MONTH(TODAY())1-12
Returns the current month number
=MONTH("15/06/2024")6
Returns 6 for June
=TEXT(A1,"MMMM")Month name
Use TEXT for month name instead
Tips & Best Practices
- •Returns 1 for January through 12 for December
- •Use TEXT function to get month name
- •Combine with DATE to build new dates
Common Mistakes
- •Using MONTH on a cell that's actually a text string that looks like a date, which returns a #VALUE! error instead of the month number
- •Expecting MONTH to return a month name like "January" - it always returns a number from 1 to 12, formatting the display is a separate step
- •Forgetting MONTH ignores the year entirely, so two dates in different years but the same month both return the same result
Related Functions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get the month name instead of a number?
Use TEXT(A1,"mmmm") for the full name or TEXT(A1,"mmm") for the abbreviated version, instead of MONTH alone.
Why does MONTH return a #VALUE! error?
The source cell is probably text that looks like a date rather than an actual date value - try DATEVALUE to convert it first.
Does MONTH account for the year when comparing two dates?
No, it only returns the month number, so December 2025 and December 2026 both return 12 - you'll need YEAR as well if the year matters.
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