The name is derived from Old English þunresdæg and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þórsdagr) meaning "
The days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology, in the order: Sun, Moon, Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite) and Saturn (Cronos). The seven-day week spread throughout the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity.
Tyr was one of the sons of Odin, or Woden, the supreme deity after whom Wednesday was named. Similarly, Thursday originates from Thor's-day, named in honour of Thor, the god of thunder. Friday was derived from Frigg's-day, Frigg, the wife of Odin, representing love and beauty, in Norse mythology.
How Monday got its name. The English name for Monday comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Mōnandæg, which loosely means “the moon's day.” Mōna is the word for moon in Old English. The second day of the week has been classified as the moon's day since Babylonian times.
Tuesday was named for the Roman god of war, Mars, so in Latin was known as dies Martis. However, the Germanic god of war was known as Tiu and the English day of the week is derived from this Germanic god's name instead, first known as Tiwsday and eventually Tuesday.
Sunday comes from Old English “Sunnandæg," which is derived from a Germanic interpretation of the Latin dies solis, "sun's day." Germanic and Norse mythology personify the sun as a goddess named Sunna or Sól.
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday diēs Sāturnī ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens.
Wednesday is named for the god Woden, who is paralleled with the Roman god Mercury, probably because both gods shared attributes of eloquence, the ability to travel, and the guardianship of the dead. Thursday is Thunor's day, or, to give the word its Old English form, Thunresdæg “the day of Thunder”.
The name is a calque of the Latin dies Mercurii 'day of Mercury', reflecting the fact that the Germanic god Woden (Wodanaz or Odin) during the Roman era was interpreted as "Germanic Mercury". The Latin name dates to the late 2nd or early 3rd century.
Roman gods become Nordic weekday names
Mars became Tyr (Tuesday), Mercury became Odin (Wednesday), Jupiter became Thor (Thursday) and Venus became Frigg (Friday).
Saturday, the final day of the week, was originally known as Laugardag (formed from Loki's name, but it translates to wash-day). When adapted to English, the day did in fact maintain its connection to Loki. The word Saturday is based on Sataere (the thief in ambush).
The Babylonians, who lived in modern-day Iraq, were astute observers and interpreters of the heavens, and it is largely thanks to them that our weeks are seven days long. The reason they adopted the number seven was that they observed seven celestial bodies — the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Our lives run on Roman time. Birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and public holidays are regulated by Pope Gregory XIII's Gregorian Calendar, which is itself a modification of Julius Caesar's calendar introduced in 45 B.C. The names of our months are therefore derived from the Roman gods, leaders, festivals, and numbers.
How Saturday got its name. The word Saturday can be traced back to the Latin Sāturnī diēs (literally “Saturn's day”). That led to the Old English pronunciation and spelling Saternesdæg, followed by the Middle English Saturdai before English speakers settled on Saturday.
Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, many other names for our planet in other languages. Mars is the Roman god of War.
The name Tuesday derives from the Old English Tiwesdæg and literally means "Tiw's Day". Tiw is the Old English form of the Proto-Germanic god *Tîwaz, or Týr in Old Norse. *Tîwaz derives from the Proto-Indo-European base *dei-, *deyā-, *dīdyā-, meaning 'to shine', whence comes also such words as "deity".
The name is derived from Old English þunresdæg and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þórsdagr) meaning "Thor's Day". It was named after the Norse god of Thunder, Thor.
The ancient Babylonians named the days of the week. The 28-day lunar cycle was broken into four weeks, each consisting of seven days. The days of the week were named after the celestial bodies which the Babylonians observed: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter.
The first day, the last day, and sometimes a sabbath, Sunday is a girl's name of Norse origin, meaning “of the sun goddess Sunna.” The name Sunday comes from the Old English expressions sunne, meaning “sun,” and dæg, meaning “day,” and serves as a song of praise to one of the mighty figures of Germanic mythology.
JANUARY. Named for the Roman god Janus, protector of gates and doorways. Janus is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, the other into the future. In ancient Roman times, the gates of the temple of Janus were open in times of war and closed in times of peace.
The names of the months are all derived from three sources: Greek and Roman deities, Roman rulers, and numbers.
6. Friday.
Named for Venus and associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Roman goddess Veneris. (The word Friday comes from the Old English Frijjo, an analog to the Roman and Greek goddesses.)
Who is Tuesday named for? Tuesday comes from the Old English tīwesdæg, meaning “Tiu's day.” Tiu was a Germanic god of the sky and war. His equivalent in Norse mythology is Tyr. The names of the days of the week were modeled after the Latin names.
Our use of the seven-day week can be traced back to the astronomically gifted Babylonians and the decree of King Sargon I of Akkad around 2300 BCE. They venerated the number seven, and before telescopes the key celestial bodies numbered seven (the Sun, the Moon and the five planets visible to the naked eye).