How to get month name from a date in Excel (4 easy ways)

It's a rare occasion when you'll find yourself in a situation where you need to get the month name from a date in Excel. Month name is important in Excel. Knowing how to get the month name from the date in your worksheet is necessary because there are many tools that need the month name. Microsoft Office provides 4 ways to get month name from a date in Excel at least,  there are：

1. Using Cell formatting 

2. Using Month Function

3. Using Text function

4. Using Power Query
   

In this post, we will show you detailed steps for how to get month name from date in Excel. Year, month, and day can be displayed on Microsoft Excel in the sheet tabs. You can also set the date format for each record by selecting appropriate date information through the drop-down list. 

#1 Using Cell Formatting

If you are someone who don;t like putting up long functions in the formula bar and wait for all those errors that you can’t mix then this method is for you , all you need is to change the format of your date and boom that‘’s it your job is done.

1. Select the date , left click on that cell.

2. And select the format cell.

3. Select the custom option.

4. And type mmmm

5. This will convert the date into the respective month.

#2 Using Month Function

If you find the above method a little hard for you then you use a simple formula for conversion of date into the month. The month formula in Excel is used to calculate the number of months between two dates. You can use this formula to calculate how many months there are between two dates by simply entering the first date in cell A1, and then entering the second date in cell B1. The formula will return a single number, which represents the number of months between these two dates. 

The monthly formula in Excel is a very useful tool. It can help you calculate a variety of financial data and to do that accurately and quickly It is quite useful when you want to change a number of your dates into the month format for further calculations It returns the  number of month instead of that name (Jan(1) to December (12))

1. Select the cell with date inside it

2. Use the formula.

3. This will convert your date into the respective month like we can see ,here it’s converted to the 9^th month.

#3 Using Text Function

The Text function provides an alternative method to convert dates into month names in Excel. By manipulating the syntax of this function, you can achieve the desired outcome using various date formats. Follow these steps to extract month names from dates using the Text function:

Step 1: Understanding the Syntax

The Text function's syntax is as follows:

TEXT(Cell Number, "date format")

In this formula, you will replace "Cell Number" with the cell containing the date you want to extract the month from, and "date format" with the desired format for the result. The table below show you two common date formats you may want:

#4 Using Power Query

Power Query is a powerful tool that allows you to transform and shape data easily. Here's how you can use Power Query to extract the month from a date:

Step-by-Step with Example: Using Power Query to Extract Month from Date

Example Data: Assume you have a list of dates in column A.

Step 1: Select Data Range

1. Highlight the date column (Column A).

Step 2: Open Power Query

1. Navigate to Excel’s “Data” tab.

2. Click "Get Data" > "From Table/Range."

Step 3: Add Month Column

1. In Power Query Editor:

2. Click "Add Column" > "Date" > "Month."

Step 4: Apply and Close

1. Click "Close & Load" to bring the extracted month back to your worksheet.

Final Result:

That’s it! By following these simple steps, you've used Power Query to extract the month from the date, creating a new column with the month names in your Excel worksheet.

Use WPS Office to Get Month Name from Date in Excel

WPS Office, a comprehensive office software suite available at no cost, was founded in 1989 by Kingsoft Office Software. Presently, it boasts a user base exceeding 500 million worldwide and enjoys a Trustpilot rating of 4.8 (based on 880 reviews). What's more, the presented methods are compatible with both Microsoft Excel and WPS Office Spreadsheet, opting for WPS Office provides additional advantages. By utilizing WPS Office, you can seamlessly extract month names from dates without the need for complex formulas. 

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FAQs

Q1: Can I extract month from date in excel without formula?

Yes, you can extract the month from a date in Excel without using a formula by utilizing the custom Date Format feature. This method allows you to directly display the month portion of a date in a cell without the need for complex calculations. Steps like：1. Choose the cell and right-click to "Format Cells." 2. Under the "Number" tab, pick "Date," then choose "MMMM" or "MMM" for month format. 3. Click "OK" to apply your chosen format.

Q2: Can I extract the year from date?

Absolutely, you can extract the year from a date in both Excel and WPS Office Spreadsheet. The process is similar to extracting the month. For detailed steps and further guidance, you can refer to the WPS Blog for helpful tutorials on this topic.