Full moon names date back several hundred years of Indians living in the northern and eastern United States. These tribes watched the seasons by giving characteristic names to each returning full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each took place.
There were some variations in the lunar names, but generally the same was in the Algonquin tribes from New England on the west to Lake Superior. European settlers followed their own customs and created some of their own names. Since the lunar (‘synodic’) month averages about 29.5 days, the dates of the full moon shift from year to year.
Here is a list of all the full moon names as well as the dates and times for 2021. Unless otherwise stated, all times are for the Eastern Time Zone.
January 28: Wolf Moon
14:16 EST (1916 GMT)
Amidst the zero cold and deep snow of winter, the wolf packs are crying hungry outside Indian villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule. In some tribes it was the full snow moon; most applied the name to the next moon.
Full moon 2021 in January: The ‘Wolf Moon’ rises with winter constellations
February 27: Full Moon
03:17 AM EST (0817 GMT)
Usually the heaviest snow falls this month. Hunting becomes very difficult, and so for some tribes it was the Full Hunger Moon.
March 28: Fullworm moon
14:48 EDT (1817 GMT)
In this month the soil becomes softer and the earthworms re-emerge, inviting the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew it as the full crow moon, when the crow of crows indicates the end of winter, or the full crescent moon because the snow cover becomes during the day and that it freezes at night. The Full Sap Moon, which indicates the time to tap maple trees, is another variation.
It is also the Paschal Full Moon; the first full moon of the spring season. The first Sunday after the Paschal Moon is Easter Sunday, which will indeed be observed one week later on Sunday 4 April.
April 26: Full Pink Moon
23:32 EDT (0332 27 GMT)
The grass pink or wild ground phlox is one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring. Other names were the full germinating grass moon, the egg moon and – under coastal trunks – the full fish moon, when the shadow came upstream to spawn.
May 26: Full Flower
07:14 EDT (1114 GMT)
Flowers abound everywhere. It is also known as the full moon planting moon or the milk moon. The moon will also be about nine hours earlier at 22:00 EDT on May 25, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, on May 25 at a distance of 357,311 kilometers from Earth. It will be the closest “supermoonof 2021. Very high ocean tides can be expected from the coincidence of perigee with full moon.
And lastly, the moon will a total lunar eclipse, which favors the western half of the United States and Canada, the totality will be extremely short and last only about 15 minutes. This will be the only total lunar eclipse of the year, with only a partial lunar eclipse to follow in November.
Related: Amazing photos from the ‘Super Blood Wolf Moon’
June 24: Full Earth Moon
14:40 EDT (1940 GMT)
Known for each Algonquin strain. Europeans call it the Rose Moon.
Related: Sweet! Rare Strawberry ‘Minimoon’ makes beautiful photos
July 23: Full Buck Moon
10:37 EDT (0237 24 July GMT)
When the new antelope goats emerge from their foreheads in a layer of velvety fur. It is also called the full thunderstorm, and thunderstorms are most common at present. Sometimes it is also called the Full Hay Moon.
August 22: Full Sturgeon Moon
08:02 EDT (1202 GMT)
This time of year, these large fish are caught from the Great Lakes and other large bodies of water such as Lake Champlain. Some tribes have known it as the full red moon, because the moon looks reddish due to muddy haze. Other variations include the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.
August’s full moon will also be a ‘Blue Moon’, as recognized under the original rules of the Maine Farmer’s almanac. Normally, each season contains three full moons. Sometimes, however, four full moons can be squeezed in one season. When this happens, the third full moon is described as a ‘Blue Moon’. During the summer season of 2021, there are four full moons: June 24, July 23, August 22 and September 20. This is the third full moon of the summer season. (The more commonly and generally accepted definition of a ‘Blue Moon’ is a second full moon in a single calendar month.)
September 20: full harvest moon
19:55 EDT (2355 GMT)
Traditionally, this name goes to the full moon that finds the closest to the autumn (autumn) equinox – which is mostly in September. On average, October Harvest Mane comes at three-year intervals, although the time frame can be quite variable, and there may be situations where as many as eight years can elapse (the next example comes between 2020 and 2028).
At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work through the light of this moon at night. Usually the full moon rises every night on average 50 minutes later, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the moon seems to rise almost at the same time every night: only 25 to 30 minutes later in the US, and only 10 to 20 minutes later for ‘ a large part of Canada and Europe. Maize, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice — the most important Native American staples — are now ready for collection.
October 20: Full Hunter’s Moon
10:57 AM EDT (1457 GMT)
With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it’s time to hunt. As the fields are harvested, hunters can ride over the stubble and they can see the fox more easily, also other animals that came out to pick and can be caught after the harvest for a thanksgiving banquet.
November 19: Full Beaver Moon
03:58 EST (0858 GMT)
Now it is time to set beaver traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter fur. Another interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Moon is due to the fact that the beavers are now active in preparing for winter. It is also called the Frosty Moon.
This year’s second lunar eclipse occurs early this morning; an almost total eclipse with 97.4% of the moon’s diameter that is immersed in the Earth’s dark ombra at 04:04 am EST (0904 GMT).
December 18: Full moon
23:37 EST (0437 19 December GMT)
December is usually considered the month that the winter cold begins to tighten its grip in the Northern Hemisphere. This month’s full moon is also called the Long Night Moon, as the nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also known as the moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a double appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long and the moon is long above the horizon.
The midwinter full moon takes a high orbit over the sky because it is facing the low sun. It is also the smallest full moon of 2021 (amicromoon, “or a minimoon), as the earth will arrive at apogee, the farthest distance from the earth, at a distance of 406 320 km (252 476 miles) on December 17. The moon will appear about 14% smaller in comparison with the full moon of May 26.
Joe Rao serves as instructor and guest lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium in New York. He writes about astronomy for the journal Natural History, the Farmers’ Almanac and other publications. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.