diff --git a/pages/date-range-picker/common.tsx b/pages/date-range-picker/common.tsx
index 91dc392584..9aeee38398 100644
--- a/pages/date-range-picker/common.tsx
+++ b/pages/date-range-picker/common.tsx
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ interface DateRangePickerPageSettings {
   disabledDates?: DisabledDate;
   showDisabledReason?: boolean;
   hasValue?: boolean;
+  secondaryGrid?: DateRangePickerProps.SecondaryGrid;
 }
 
 const defaultSettings: Required<DateRangePickerPageSettings> = {
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ const defaultSettings: Required<DateRangePickerPageSettings> = {
   disabledDates: 'none',
   showDisabledReason: true,
   hasValue: true,
+  secondaryGrid: 'previous',
 };
 
 export function useDateRangePickerSettings(
@@ -89,6 +91,7 @@ export function useDateRangePickerSettings(
   const disabledDates = urlParams.disabledDates ?? def('disabledDates');
   const showDisabledReason = parseBoolean(def('showDisabledReason'), urlParams.showDisabledReason);
   const hasValue = parseBoolean(def('hasValue'), urlParams.hasValue);
+  const secondaryGrid = urlParams.secondaryGrid ?? def('secondaryGrid');
   const settings: Required<DateRangePickerPageSettings> = {
     dateOnly,
     monthOnly,
@@ -105,6 +108,7 @@ export function useDateRangePickerSettings(
     disabledDates,
     showDisabledReason,
     hasValue,
+    secondaryGrid,
   };
   const setSettings = (settings: DateRangePickerPageSettings) => setUrlParams(settings);
 
@@ -212,6 +216,7 @@ export function useDateRangePickerSettings(
     placeholder,
     i18nStrings,
     locale: 'en-GB',
+    secondaryGrid,
   };
 
   return { props, settings, setSettings };
@@ -256,6 +261,7 @@ export function Settings({
     disabledDates,
     showDisabledReason,
     hasValue,
+    secondaryGrid,
   },
   setSettings,
 }: {
@@ -274,6 +280,7 @@ export function Settings({
   const dateFormatOptions = [{ value: 'iso' }, { value: 'slashed' }, { value: 'long-localized' }];
   const inputDateFormat = [{ value: 'iso' }, { value: 'slashed' }];
   const timeFormatOptions = [{ value: 'hh:mm:ss' }, { value: 'hh:mm' }, { value: 'hh' }];
+  const secondaryGridOptions = [{ value: 'previous' }, { value: 'next' }];
   return (
     <SpaceBetween size="m" direction="horizontal">
       <FormField label="Range selector mode">
@@ -332,6 +339,16 @@ export function Settings({
         />
       </FormField>
 
+      <FormField label="Secondary grid">
+        <Select
+          options={secondaryGridOptions}
+          selectedOption={secondaryGridOptions.find(o => o.value === secondaryGrid) ?? null}
+          onChange={({ detail }) =>
+            setSettings({ secondaryGrid: detail.selectedOption.value as DateRangePickerProps.SecondaryGrid })
+          }
+        />
+      </FormField>
+
       <SpaceBetween direction="horizontal" size="s">
         <Checkbox checked={hasValue} onChange={({ detail }) => setSettings({ hasValue: detail.checked })}>
           Has initial value
diff --git a/pages/date-range-picker/start-month.page.tsx b/pages/date-range-picker/start-month.page.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9388880838
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pages/date-range-picker/start-month.page.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+// Copyright Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+import React from 'react';
+
+import { Box, DateRangePicker, FormField, Link } from '~components';
+
+import { SimplePage } from '../app/templates';
+import ScreenshotArea from '../utils/screenshot-area';
+import { Settings, useDateRangePickerSettings } from './common';
+
+export default function StartMonthScenario() {
+  const { props, settings, setSettings } = useDateRangePickerSettings({
+    value: null,
+    secondaryGrid: 'next',
+    hasValue: false,
+  });
+  return (
+    <SimplePage
+      title="Date range picker: start month"
+      settings={<Settings settings={settings} setSettings={setSettings} />}
+    >
+      <Link id="focusable-before">Focusable element before</Link>
+      <br />
+      <br />
+
+      <ScreenshotArea gutters={false}>
+        <FormField label="Date Range Picker field">
+          <DateRangePicker {...props} />
+        </FormField>
+
+        <br />
+        <br />
+        <div style={{ blockSize: 800 }}>
+          <b>
+            Raw value: <Box variant="pre">{JSON.stringify(props.value, undefined, 2)}</Box>
+          </b>
+        </div>
+      </ScreenshotArea>
+    </SimplePage>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/__tests__/snapshot-tests/__snapshots__/documenter.test.ts.snap b/src/__tests__/snapshot-tests/__snapshots__/documenter.test.ts.snap
index b19b3647c2..6efb5d7055 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/snapshot-tests/__snapshots__/documenter.test.ts.snap
+++ b/src/__tests__/snapshot-tests/__snapshots__/documenter.test.ts.snap
@@ -11396,6 +11396,28 @@ allows the user to clear the selected value.",
       "optional": true,
       "type": "boolean",
     },
+    {
+      "description": "Determines which month is displayed first (on the left) when the calendar
+opens with two grids visible.
+
+* \`previous\` (default) – the left grid shows the previous month and the
+  right grid shows the current month.
+* \`current\` – the left grid shows the current month and the right grid
+  shows the next month.
+
+Has no effect on single-grid (mobile) layout.",
+      "inlineType": {
+        "name": "DateRangePickerProps.StartMonth",
+        "type": "union",
+        "values": [
+          "current",
+          "previous",
+        ],
+      },
+      "name": "startMonth",
+      "optional": true,
+      "type": "string",
+    },
     {
       "description": "Starting day of the week. [0-6] maps to [Sunday-Saturday].
 By default the starting day of the week is defined by the locale,
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/__tests__/utils.test.ts b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/__tests__/utils.test.ts
index b0f82e121f..dc9590b3b8 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/__tests__/utils.test.ts
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/__tests__/utils.test.ts
@@ -107,11 +107,26 @@ describe('findMonthToDisplay', () => {
     const result = findMonthToDisplay(value, true); // isSingleGrid doesn't matter in this case
     expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-07-01'));
   });
-  test('should return current month when both start and end dates are null', () => {
+  test('should return current month when both start and end dates are null for single grid', () => {
     const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
-    const result = findMonthToDisplay(value, true); // isSingleGrid doesn't matter in this case
+    const result = findMonthToDisplay(value, true);
     expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-06-01')); // Based on the mocked current date
   });
+  test('should return current month (default previous-and-current) when both dates are null for double grid', () => {
+    const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
+    const result = findMonthToDisplay(value, false);
+    expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-06-01')); // Default: current month as baseDate (right grid)
+  });
+  test('should return current month with secondaryGrid="previous" when both dates are null for double grid', () => {
+    const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
+    const result = findMonthToDisplay(value, false, 'previous');
+    expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-06-01'));
+  });
+  test('should return next month with secondaryGrid="next" when both dates are null for double grid', () => {
+    const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
+    const result = findMonthToDisplay(value, false, 'next');
+    expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-07-01')); // Next month as baseDate so current month appears on the left
+  });
   test('should handle leap years correctly', () => {
     jest.setSystemTime(createDate('2024-02-15').getTime());
     const value = { start: { date: '2024-02-29', time: '00:00' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
@@ -151,11 +166,26 @@ describe('findYearToDisplay', () => {
     const result = findYearToDisplay(value, true); // isSingleGrid doesn't matter in this case
     expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2024-01-01'));
   });
-  test('should return current year when both start and end dates are empty', () => {
+  test('should return current year when both start and end dates are empty for single grid', () => {
     const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
-    const result = findYearToDisplay(value, true); // isSingleGrid doesn't matter in this case
+    const result = findYearToDisplay(value, true);
     expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-01-01')); // Based on the mocked current date
   });
+  test('should return current year (default previous-and-current) when both dates are empty for double grid', () => {
+    const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
+    const result = findYearToDisplay(value, false);
+    expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-01-01')); // Default: current year as baseDate (right grid)
+  });
+  test('should return current year with secondaryGrid="previous" when both dates are empty for double grid', () => {
+    const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
+    const result = findYearToDisplay(value, false, 'previous');
+    expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2023-01-01'));
+  });
+  test('should return next year with secondaryGrid="next" when both dates are empty for double grid', () => {
+    const value = { start: { date: '', time: '' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
+    const result = findYearToDisplay(value, false, 'next');
+    expect(result).toEqual(createDate('2024-01-01')); // Next year as baseDate so current year appears on the left
+  });
   test('should handle leap years correctly', () => {
     const value = { start: { date: '2024-02-29', time: '00:00' }, end: { date: '', time: '' } };
     const result = findYearToDisplay(value, true);
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/index.tsx b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/index.tsx
index 84de2b5adb..6625cf5680 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/index.tsx
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/index.tsx
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ export default function DateRangePickerCalendar({
   dateInputFormat,
   customAbsoluteRangeControl,
   granularity = 'day',
+  secondaryGrid,
 }: DateRangePickerCalendarProps) {
   const isSingleGrid = useMobile();
   const isMonthPicker = granularity === 'month';
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ export default function DateRangePickerCalendar({
   const addPage = isMonthPicker ? addYears : addMonths;
   const startOfPage = isMonthPicker ? startOfYear : startOfMonth;
   const findItemToFocus = isMonthPicker ? findMonthToFocus : findDateToFocus;
-  const [currentPage, setCurrentPage] = useState(() => findPageToDisplay(value, isSingleGrid));
+  const [currentPage, setCurrentPage] = useState(() => findPageToDisplay(value, isSingleGrid, secondaryGrid));
   const [focusedDate, setFocusedDate] = useState<Date | null>(() => {
     if (value.start.date) {
       const startDate = parseDate(value.start.date);
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/interfaces.ts b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/interfaces.ts
index 317a3a34a2..2fefd5aa98 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/interfaces.ts
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/interfaces.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ export interface DateRangePickerCalendarProps
         | 'customAbsoluteRangeControl'
         | 'isDateEnabled'
         | 'dateDisabledReason'
+        | 'secondaryGrid'
       >,
       'absoluteFormat' | 'timeInputFormat'
     > {
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/utils.ts b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/utils.ts
index 0dc45f6b90..ee23b3aef3 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/calendar/utils.ts
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/calendar/utils.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,11 @@ export function findMonthToFocus(
   return null;
 }
 
-export function findMonthToDisplay(value: DateRangePickerProps.PendingAbsoluteValue, isSingleGrid: boolean) {
+export function findMonthToDisplay(
+  value: DateRangePickerProps.PendingAbsoluteValue,
+  isSingleGrid: boolean,
+  secondaryGrid: DateRangePickerProps.SecondaryGrid | undefined = 'previous'
+) {
   if (value.start.date) {
     const startDate = parseDate(value.start.date);
     if (isSingleGrid) {
@@ -54,10 +58,17 @@ export function findMonthToDisplay(value: DateRangePickerProps.PendingAbsoluteVa
   if (value.end.date) {
     return startOfMonth(parseDate(value.end.date));
   }
-  return startOfMonth(Date.now());
+  if (isSingleGrid || secondaryGrid !== 'next') {
+    return startOfMonth(Date.now());
+  }
+  return startOfMonth(addMonths(Date.now(), 1));
 }
 
-export function findYearToDisplay(value: DateRangePickerProps.PendingAbsoluteValue, isSingleGrid: boolean) {
+export function findYearToDisplay(
+  value: DateRangePickerProps.PendingAbsoluteValue,
+  isSingleGrid: boolean,
+  secondaryGrid: DateRangePickerProps.SecondaryGrid | undefined = 'previous'
+) {
   if (value.start.date) {
     const startDate = parseDate(value.start.date);
     if (isSingleGrid) {
@@ -68,7 +79,10 @@ export function findYearToDisplay(value: DateRangePickerProps.PendingAbsoluteVal
   if (value.end.date) {
     return startOfYear(parseDate(value.end.date));
   }
-  return startOfYear(Date.now());
+  if (isSingleGrid || secondaryGrid !== 'next') {
+    return startOfYear(Date.now());
+  }
+  return startOfYear(addYears(Date.now(), 1));
 }
 
 export const generateI18NFallbackKey = (isMonthPicker: boolean, isDateOnly: boolean) => {
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/dropdown.tsx b/src/date-range-picker/dropdown.tsx
index 521dcac98e..2f95f79f9f 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/dropdown.tsx
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/dropdown.tsx
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ interface DateRangePickerDropdownProps
   isSingleGrid: boolean;
   customAbsoluteRangeControl: DateRangePickerProps.AbsoluteRangeControl | undefined;
   renderRelativeRangeContent: DateRangePickerProps.RelativeRangeControl | undefined;
+  secondaryGrid: DateRangePickerProps.SecondaryGrid | undefined;
 }
 
 export function DateRangePickerDropdown({
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ export function DateRangePickerDropdown({
   customRelativeRangeUnits,
   renderRelativeRangeContent,
   granularity = 'day',
+  secondaryGrid,
 }: DateRangePickerDropdownProps) {
   const i18n = useInternalI18n('date-range-picker');
   const isMonthPicker = granularity === 'month';
@@ -216,6 +218,7 @@ export function DateRangePickerDropdown({
                       dateInputFormat={dateInputFormat}
                       customAbsoluteRangeControl={customAbsoluteRangeControl}
                       granularity={granularity}
+                      secondaryGrid={secondaryGrid}
                     />
                   )}
 
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/index.tsx b/src/date-range-picker/index.tsx
index eb369a8538..38bd29f062 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/index.tsx
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/index.tsx
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ const DateRangePicker = React.forwardRef(
       customRelativeRangeUnits,
       renderRelativeRangeContent,
       granularity = 'day',
+      secondaryGrid,
       ...rest
     }: DateRangePickerProps,
     ref: Ref<DateRangePickerProps.Ref>
@@ -349,6 +350,7 @@ const DateRangePicker = React.forwardRef(
                   customRelativeRangeUnits={customRelativeRangeUnits}
                   renderRelativeRangeContent={renderRelativeRangeContent}
                   granularity={granularity}
+                  secondaryGrid={secondaryGrid}
                 />
               )}
             </ResetContextsForModal>
diff --git a/src/date-range-picker/interfaces.ts b/src/date-range-picker/interfaces.ts
index c9fc7334a1..d205092630 100644
--- a/src/date-range-picker/interfaces.ts
+++ b/src/date-range-picker/interfaces.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,22 @@ export interface DateRangePickerBaseProps {
    */
   timeInputFormat?: DateRangePickerProps.TimeInputFormat;
 
+  /**
+   * Determines which period is displayed in the secondary (right) grid
+   * when the calendar opens with two grids visible.
+   *
+   * * `previous` (default) – the secondary grid shows the current period,
+   *   and the primary (left) grid shows the previous period.
+   * * `next` – the secondary grid shows the next period,
+   *   and the primary (left) grid shows the current period.
+   *
+   * For day granularity, a "period" is a month. For month granularity, a "period" is a year.
+   *
+   * When a value is selected, the calendar navigates to the selected date instead.
+   * Has no effect on single-grid (mobile) layout.
+   */
+  secondaryGrid?: DateRangePickerProps.SecondaryGrid;
+
   /**
    * Fired whenever a user changes the component's value.
    * The event `detail` contains the current value of the field.
@@ -298,6 +314,8 @@ export namespace DateRangePickerProps {
     setSelectedRange: (value: RelativeValue) => void
   ) => React.ReactNode;
 
+  export type SecondaryGrid = 'previous' | 'next';
+
   export type RangeSelectorMode = 'default' | 'absolute-only' | 'relative-only';
 
   export interface Ref {