SQL: Format Dates with DATENAME()

DATNAME() is an ANSI compliant, fast date part function built into SQL Server.

It accepts two arguments datepart and date. The datepart parameter specifies which part of the date to return - day, month, year with the function returning an nvarchar.

Syntax

DATENAME ( datepart ,date)

Example

SELECT DATENAME(m, GETDATE())

Result

January

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms174395(v=sql.90).aspx