We're Celebrating Summer - The Season & The Name!

Summer is here (for now) so we’re celebrating the season and the name! Read on for fascinating facts about summer and to find out how popular Summer is as a name. Plus, find out why Stikins are the perfect name labels for the summer season.

Our Favourite Facts About Summer & Our Top Names Of Summer

“Summer” has always been the most popular seasonal name we’ve seen. Last year, 69% of our seasonal names were summer (23% chose Autumn and 8% Winter – sadly, we’re still waiting for Spring!).

There are lots of names that mean “summer”, “sun”, or “sunshine”, including:

Aelius, Arthit, Eguzki, Eki, Grishma, Haf, Haul, Hefin, Helios, Heulwen, Hnub, Inti, Mzia, Nou, Ravi, Shamash, Shams, Shandiin, Siqiniq, Sol, Sole, Soleil, Sorin, Summer, Sunny, Sunshine, Suraj, Surya, Suvi, Tonatiuh, Udane, Utu, Vera, and Willka.

Here are some of our favourite facts about our most popular seasonal namesake:

• One of the earliest written uses of “summer” dates to 825. It comes from the Old English sumor, which is possibly related to a Proto-Indo-European word sem meaning together / one.
• In the Northern hemisphere, meteorological summer is 1^st June to 31^st August, while solar and Celtic summers are 1^st May to 31^st July. Traditional Celtic festivals marked each season; summer began with Beltane and finished with Lughnasadh (harvest).
• Astronomical summer is determined by the summer solstice and autumn equinox. Solstices mark when the Earth’s axis is most or least inclined towards the sun, creating the longest and shortest days. Equinoxes mark when day and night are roughly equal. The summer solstice falls in June (Northern hemisphere) and December (Southern hemisphere). The autumn equinox falls in September (North) and March (South).
• You might think summer is hot because Earth is closer to the sun. While Earth’s axis is tilted towards the sun in June, Earth is actually heading for its “aphelion”. This is the moment in its orbit when it is farthest from the sun. This currently happens about two weeks after the northern hemisphere’s summer solstice.
• Northern hemisphere summers are warmer and longer than southern ones. This is because it contains larger land masses (which heat more easily than seas) and because Earth’s speed changes during its orbit around the sun. Earth moves faster when it is closer to the sun. This means it takes less time to move from December solstice to March equinox (89 days) compared with June solstice to September equinox (93 days).
• The names of our summer months come from the Roman Calendar. June (Iunius) was possibly named for Juno (Queen of the Roman Gods), while July (Iulius) and August (Augustus) were named for Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus.
• The “dog days of summer” are named for Sirius (the Dog Star) in the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog). Sirius is an extremely bright star. During the northern hemisphere’s summer, it rises above the horizon just before the sun. Ancient Greeks believed that Sirius added to the sun’s heat and caused the hottest (and most uncomfortable) part of summer. They blamed the star for drought, thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. The English term “Dog days” comes from the Latin dies caniculares (“the puppy days”) while Sirius comes from the ancient Greek Seirios meaning glowing or scorcher.
• The UK is more likely to have thunderstorms in summer than any other season. Almost all UK records for most rainfall in a short duration (between 5 to 155 minutes) were set in summer months. For the last 189 years, summer has only been the driest season 53 times. It’s even been the wettest season 13 times!

Order Name Labels For Your Summer Today

We designed our name labels to stick on and stay on – all summer long and beyond! Our super strong adhesive creates adhesive bonds that remain firmly stuck – through day to day wear and repeat trips through the washing machine. The print is also summer proof because we use a speciality printing ink that is solvent resistant. This means it can withstand exposure to solvents, including ingredients in some sun creams that can cause inks to disintegrate.

This means your name labels will remain clear, legible, and firmly in place all year round.

You can order Stikins ® name labels online or by phone. Simply let us know how many you want and what you need printing. We print and post name labels Monday to Friday, up to 3pm. This means we will despatch your order on the same or next working day. Standard delivery is free and uses Royal Mail’s first class service.