What is the common English name for the June solstice in the Northern Hemisphere?

The common English name for the June solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the summer solstice.

It occurs when Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted most toward the Sun, bringing the year’s longest daylight period and shortest night to locations north of the equator. At that moment, the Sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer, about 23.44° north latitude.

The event usually falls on June 20 or 21, although the exact date can vary with the calendar, leap years, time zones, and the precise moment of the solstice. Astronomers often prefer “June solstice” because “summer solstice” changes meaning by hemisphere: it is the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

A common mix-up is assuming that the earliest sunrise or latest sunset must occur on the solstice itself. Those usually happen several days before or after it, depending on latitude. “Solstice” comes from Latin roots meaning “sun standing still,” describing the Sun’s brief pause in its apparent northward movement before it begins moving south again.