# Enough with the fucking full moon names! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626 "2020-02-08T14:41:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/21 "2020-02-08T20:04:48Z")
And really, supermoon? It’s a full 7% larger in angular diameter than the average moon. Would you call someone who could lift 7% more weight than the average man a superman? Neither would I. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/22 "2020-02-08T20:56:44Z")
I will grant the whole “supermoon” thing is a bit silly and definitely overused but it’s not hurting anything, and anything that might drive people to learn a bit more about the solar system and how it all works is not a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/23 "2020-02-08T21:23:23Z")
I’m honestly a little concerned about the That’s No Moon we’ve got coming up. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/24 "2020-02-08T21:37:21Z")
People getting so bent out of shape because up to this instant in time, humans lived a lot more outdoors, were always conscious of the sky and the weather and the seasons. Chillax, as they say. English medieval names for the moons: January:Wolf Moon February: Storm Moon March:Chaste Moon April:Seed Moon May: Hare Moon June: Dyan Moon July: Mead Moon August:Corn Moon September:Barley Moon October: Blood Moon November:Snow Moon December:Oak Moon ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/25 "2020-02-08T23:19:35Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Except for that Moons Over My Hammy. Hold the toast and the home fries and that shit is awesome. Substitute english muffins and grits like the professionals do, son, and stop embarrassing yourself. 😉 When it’s Walk the Moon, I will neither shut up _nor_ dance. Have, like, fer sure no idea what’s gonna happen on, like, Month Moon Unit, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/26 "2020-02-09T00:08:17Z")
Can we also pit photo journalists who illustrate articles about said supermoon with telephoto images of the moon on the horizon that makes it look like a shot from “When worlds collide”? The super moon is only about 7% bigger and 15% brighter than the average moon. If it looks particularly big to you its more likely probably just the [moon illusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion) rather than anything to do with it being a super moon. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/27 "2020-02-09T00:09:32Z")
Could we perhaps modernise them with names like: Super _Bravehear_t Moon Super _Grease_ Moon Super _Starship Troopers_ Moon Super _Slapshot_ Moon and my favorite, Super _Dirty Work_ Moon ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/28 "2020-02-09T02:16:37Z")
^ Great idea Super Soaker Moon and a nod to ABBA - Super Trouper Moon ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/29 "2020-02-09T05:29:10Z")
I’ll have the Super-Size Moon Over My Hammy please. (Made with a real [Roc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc_(mythology))’s egg.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/30 "2020-02-09T05:46:46Z")
I recently saw a reference to “Moony McMoonface.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/31 "2020-02-09T06:46:00Z")
I’m partial to a good Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon Moon Shine, on, shine on Sun Myung Moon, for me and my Moonie. \<3 ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/32 "2020-02-09T12:38:49Z")
Its a bomber moon, we can fly the lancasters and short stirlings and be over Berlin ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/33 "2020-02-09T20:36:57Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > People getting so bent out of shape because up to this instant in time, humans lived a lot more outdoors, were always conscious of the sky and the weather and the seasons. Chillax, as they say. > English medieval names for the moons: > > January:Wolf Moon > February: Storm Moon > March:Chaste Moon > April:Seed Moon > May: Hare Moon > June: Dyan Moon > July: Mead Moon > August:Corn Moon > September:Barley Moon > October: Blood Moon > November:Snow Moon > December:Oak Moon I’d like to know where you got those names. I’ve been looking for reliable references to such “named” moons, and haven’t been able to find them. I think the whole idea of names for full moons is actually a pretty modern invention, dating back no more than one or two hundred years. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably citing recent sources. I got interest in this when I went looking for the sources of the name “blue” moon. That turns out to be a very recent invention, dating back to 19th century almanacs. The original meaning was an intercalated month, the third in a season that has four full moons. That month is called “blue moon” instead of whatever it would otherwise be so that the lunar calendar doesn’t slip too far out of line with the solar calendar. It keeps us from having Harvest moon rotating through the year instead of staying in the autumn. The other meaning of a “blue moon” as being in a month with two full moons is a later misinterpretation, as an article in _Sky and Telescope_ pointed out in 2012. It’s not that the moon is called “a” Blue Moon – it’s that it is called “Blue Moon” rather than “Harvest Moon”, or whatever. Since it’s an extra month, it needs a new name. See here, for instance – [Blue Moon — What is it and when is the next one? | Space](https://www.space.com/15455-blue-moon.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/34 "2020-02-10T02:14:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’d like to know where you got those names. I’ve been looking for reliable references to such “named” moons, and haven’t been able to find them. > > I think the whole idea of names for full moons is actually a pretty modern invention, dating back no more than one or two hundred years. :dubious: Well, if you call the Venerable Bede (ca. 725 CE ) “modern”. You have to remember, as **Ulfreida** said, that in many languages including Old English the words “moon” and “month” were basically interchangeable for a long time. There’s nothing new about calling months “moons” or about assigning different seasonal names to the months. That said, I don’t know of any medieval European sources listing the specific names **Ulfreida** mentioned. The attested [month names of the early Germanic calendar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Germanic_calendar#Month_names) don’t show much overlap with most of them, except perhaps for “Blood Moon” (which is November rather than October). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/35 "2020-02-10T02:27:34Z")
I kinda thought this thread would be about werewolf characters whose human forms have names like “Lupin” or “Lupus”. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/36 "2020-02-10T02:39:41Z")
It is all meant to get us used to the idea of a newly named moon each month. Then each month’s name will be for sale and we won’t even notice. There will be a full Pepsi moon before the year is over. Mt. Dew Over the Moon, out soon!! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/37 "2020-02-10T02:40:45Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > :dubious: Well, if you call the Venerable Bede (ca. 725 CE ) “modern”. You have to remember, as **Ulfreida** said, that in many languages including Old English the words “moon” and “month” were basically interchangeable for a long time. There’s nothing new about calling months “moons” or about assigning different seasonal names to the months. > > That said, I don’t know of any medieval European sources listing the specific names **Ulfreida** mentioned. The attested [month names of the early Germanic calendar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Germanic_calendar#Month_names) don’t show much overlap with most of them, except perhaps for “Blood Moon” (which is November rather than October). Gimme a cite for the Bede and maybe I’ll believe you. I’ve read Bede, and don’t recall this. Also, no saying that the names of months count. We’re talking about naming the moons, not necessarily the period of time marked by them. I want to see a list of the names of the moons from a reliable source. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/38 "2020-02-10T03:59:12Z")
Trump Wine Moon has a nice…bouquet to it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/39 "2020-02-10T14:35:29Z")
Just wait until these full moons get corporate sponsors, like college bowls. Then you’ll have the Harvest Moon presented by State Farm, or Cheezit Moon, or Kraft Fight Hunger Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626/40 "2020-02-10T14:58:24Z")
If all these moons are just names of the months used since the dawn of time then… who gives a shit? If “Storm Moon” is just another way of saying February, then I don’t need to hear about it. It’s nothing special, it’s just a twee way of saying February. Stop running “news” articles about the fact that it’s February. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-fucking-full-moon-names/847626.md?page=3)