Year 531 (DXXXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year after the Consulship of Lampadius and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1284 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 531 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.