DATENAME (Transact-SQL)

Returns a character string that represents the specified datepart of the specified date. The return value is of the same data type as the date argument.

Syntax

DATENAME ( datepart , date )

Arguments

Parameter Description Required
datepart Specifies the part of the date that is to be returned. The following table lists all valid values for the datepart argument. Yes
date The expression, column, variable, or literal that is evaluated to a date, time, or datetime value. Yes

Return Type

varchar

Remarks

DATENAME is the counter-part of DATEPART. DATENAME returns the name of the specified datepart, whereas DATEPART returns the integer value.

Note

For a list of valid datepart and their abbreviations, see Supported Date and Time Data Types and Functions.

Examples

The following example returns the name of the month for a given date.

SELECT DATENAME (month, '2017-08-10') AS MonthName;

Result:

August

The following example returns the name of the day of the week for a given date.

SELECT DATENAME (weekday, '2017-08-10') AS DayName;

Result:

Thursday

You can also use DATENAME with columns from a table.

SELECT DATENAME (year, OrderDate) AS OrderYear,
DATENAME (month, OrderDate) AS OrderMonthName
FROM Sales.SalesOrderHeader;

Related Topics