Monday has a bad reputation. It drags us back to work and school after the weekend, and songs, cartoons and even marketing campaigns have been made about how much people dislike it. But Monday is also a fresh start, and it has a surprisingly interesting history. Here are 18 fun facts about Monday.
1Monday is the Moon’s day.
The name comes from the Old English Mōnandæg, meaning “Moon’s day”. The Romans called it dies Lunae, the day of the Moon, which is why it is lundi in French, lunes in Spanish and lunedì in Italian. In German it is Montag.
2Officially, Monday is the first day of the week.
Under the international standard ISO 8601, which most of Europe follows, the week starts on Monday. In the United States, Canada and some other countries, calendars usually start the week on Sunday instead.
3Quakers call it “Second Day”.
Early Quakers objected to day names that honoured pagan gods, so they numbered the days instead. Sunday was “First Day” and Monday was “Second Day”, and some Quakers still use these names.
4Many languages simply number it.
In Mandarin Chinese, Monday is xīngqī yī, meaning “weekday one”. In Turkish it is Pazartesi, “the day after Pazar”, or Sunday.
5Monday’s child is fair of face.
So says the old nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child”, which gives a different fortune to children born on each day of the week. It was first recorded in Devon in the 1830s.
6“Monday” is an anagram of “dynamo”.
Which is a little ironic, given how most people feel on a Monday morning.
7You are likely to weigh the most on a Monday.
A 2016 study of people who weighed themselves regularly found that their weight tended to peak on Sunday and Monday, after weekend meals and drinks, and fall to its lowest on Friday.
8Blue Monday was invented by a travel company.
The idea that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year began with a 2005 press release for a holiday company. The “formula” behind it has no scientific basis.
9Serious heart attacks are more common on Mondays.
A study of more than 10,000 patients in Ireland, presented in 2023, found that the most serious type of heart attack was about 13% more likely at the start of the working week, peaking on Mondays. Scientists think the body clock and work stress may play a part.
10Cyber Monday was named in 2005.
The US National Retail Federation coined the term for the Monday after Thanksgiving, when people returned to work and shopped online. It is now one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, including in the UK.
11Half of England’s bank holidays fall on a Monday.
Easter Monday, the early May bank holiday, the spring bank holiday and the summer bank holiday all fall on Mondays in England and Wales, giving four long weekends a year.
12Black Monday saw the biggest stock market crash in a day.
On Monday 19 October 1987, the Dow Jones index in New York fell by 22.6%, still its largest fall in a single day. Markets around the world crashed too.
13The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on a Monday.
At 8:15am on Monday 6 August 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The Peace Memorial, or Genbaku Dome, still stands as a reminder.
14Monday is a special day in Islam.
According to Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad was born on a Monday. He also fasted on Mondays and Thursdays, and many Muslims follow this practice today.
15Monday has inspired some huge songs.
“Monday, Monday” by the Mamas & the Papas reached number one in the US in 1966. “Manic Monday” by the Bangles was written by Prince, and New Order’s “Blue Monday” (1983) is the best-selling 12-inch single of all time.
16“I Don’t Like Mondays” has a dark story.
The Boomtown Rats’ 1979 UK number one was written by Bob Geldof after a school shooting in San Diego, when the teenager responsible reportedly gave “I don’t like Mondays” as the reason.
17Garfield made hating Mondays famous.
Jim Davis’s lasagne-loving cartoon cat, created in 1978, is known for his loathing of Mondays, which have been a running joke in the comic strip for decades.
18The next year with 53 Mondays is 2029.
A normal year has 52 weeks and one day, so it has 53 of whichever day it starts on. 2024 had 53 Mondays, and the next year to have them will be 2029.
FAQs about Monday
Why is it called Monday?
Monday means “Moon’s day”, from the Old English Mōnandæg.
Is Monday the first day of the week?
Under the international standard ISO 8601, used in the UK and most of Europe, yes. In the US and some other countries, Sunday is usually shown as the first day.
Is Blue Monday real?
No. It started as a marketing campaign in 2005, and there is no evidence that one day in January is more depressing than others.
Sources and further reading
Explore more: facts about Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
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