Excel function · Dates
MONTH
Returns the month of a date, from 1 to 12.
What it does
MONTH returns the month of a date as a number, 1 for January up to 12 for December. Combined with YEAR it groups records by month.
Syntax
=MONTH(serial_number)Arguments in square brackets are optional, and … means you can add more of the same. In this Excel language, arguments are separated by ,
Arguments
- serial_number
- The date to read, usually a cell.
Example
Which month does the date in A2 fall in?
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date | Month |
| 2 | 2025-12-03 | 12 |
The formula in B2:
=MONTH(A2)Result: 12
2025-12-03 is in December, the twelfth month, so the result is 12.
Common mistakes
- Expecting the month's name. The result is a number; use
TEXTto get a name. - Grouping by month alone across several years, which puts December 2025 and December 2026 together.
In other Excel languages
Excel translates function names, and in some languages the argument separator too. Type the name your Excel shows.
| Excel language | Function name | Separator |
|---|---|---|
| English | MONTH | , |
| Deutsch | MONAT | ; |
| Français | MOIS | ; |
| Español (España) | MES | ; |
| Español (México) | MES | , |
| 日本語 | MONTH | , |
| 한국어 | MONTH | , |
| 繁體中文 | MONTH | , |
| ไทย | MONTH | , |
| ខ្មែរ | MONTH | , |
| Tiếng Việt | MONTH | ; |