About Names: Dr. Cleveland Evans on the name “June”

June’s derived from Latin Junius, originally the fourth and later the sixth month on the Roman calendar. It’s named after Juno, Rome’s patron goddess. Juno probably meant “young one,” related to the word “junior.” Rare English surname June is from French “jeune (young).”

The index to 1850’s census includes 57 male and 661 female Junes. Most of the former were probably either instances of the rare surname being turned into a given name, or of June used as a nickname for Junius, a Roman clan name brought back during the early 19th century Classical Revival. 688 men were listed as Junius in 1850.

Most of the female Junes in 1850’s index are probably mistakes. It’s difficult to distinguish June from Jane or Irene in old handwriting, and the great majority of 1850’s Junes turn out to really be Jane or Irene when other records are consulted.

Some 19th century slaveholders named slaves of both sexes after months. The oldest woman I’ve found in the 1850 census really named June was June McAfee, a Black woman in Jeffersonville, Indiana, born in Virginia in 1773. In 1870, the first census after emancipation, 437 of the 713 male Junes and 466 of the 1,933 female Junes were Black.

The first non-Black female June I’m sure of was Ohio-born June Rose Colby (1856-1941). Her parents Lewis and Celestia liked creative botanical names. Her older sister and brother were Vine and Branch. Her first name was inspired by her June 4 birthday.

In 1886, June Rose Colby became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in English literature at the University of Michigan. After 1892, she was a professor at Illinois State Normal University, and became a leader of Illinois’ women’s suffrage movement.

Though Colby published several books on literature, she didn’t help the name June spread since she used “J. Rose Colby” professionally.