The fastest way to add a birthday

Open Google Calendar on any device and click the Create button (the plus sign in the top left). Select Event from the menu. Type the person's name and the date of their birthday in the title field — for example, "Sarah's birthday" or "Mom — March 15". Set the time to an all-day event by clicking the time field and toggling All day to on. Then click Save.

The birthday now appears on your calendar every year on that date. Google Calendar automatically repeats it annually, so you will not have to re-enter it. If you want to add a note — like a gift idea or their age — click into the event after saving and type in the description field.

If you have contacts saved in Google Contacts, you can also pull birthdays directly from there. Open Google Calendar settings (the gear icon in the top right), click Settings, then scroll down to Other calendars and click the plus sign. Select Subscribe to calendar and choose Birthdays. Google will then show all birthdays from your contacts in a separate calendar layer you can toggle on and off.

Key Takeaways

  • You can add a birthday as a one-time event by clicking Create, typing the name and date, and turning on All day.
  • Google Calendar repeats birthdays automatically every year without you having to re-enter them.
  • If your contacts have birthdays saved in Google Contacts, you can subscribe to a Birthdays calendar to see them all at once.
  • Birthday events show up the same way as other all-day events and send you a reminder the day before if you want one.
  • You can edit or delete a birthday event at any time by clicking on it and choosing Edit or Delete.

Adding birthdays from your contacts

If you already have people's birthdays stored in Google Contacts, you do not have to type them into your calendar manually. Google Calendar can read that information and display it for you. Open Google Calendar, click the settings gear in the top right corner, and select Settings.

Scroll down the left sidebar until you see Other calendars. Click the plus sign next to it and choose Subscribe to calendar. A list of options appears — select Birthdays. Google will now create a new calendar layer called "Birthdays" that pulls directly from your contacts. Any birthday you have saved in Google Contacts will show up here automatically.

This method works best if you have already entered birthdays into your contacts. If you have not, you can add them by opening Google Contacts, finding the person's entry, clicking on them, and filling in their birthday in the Birthday field. Once you save it there, it will appear in your Birthdays calendar within a few minutes.

Setting reminders so you do not forget

By default, Google Calendar sends you a notification the day before a birthday. If you want to change when you get reminded — or add multiple reminders — click on the birthday event and select Edit event. Scroll down to the Notifications section.

Click Add notification to create a new reminder. You can set it to alert you one day before, one week before, or at any custom time you choose. If you want a notification on the morning of the birthday itself, set one for that day at a specific time — for example, 8:00 AM. You can add as many reminders as you want, so you might set one a week ahead to plan a gift and another the morning of to send a message.

If you do not want reminders for a particular birthday, click the event, select Edit event, and delete all the notifications. The birthday will still appear on your calendar — you just will not get alerts.

Organizing birthdays by group or relationship

If you want to keep track of whose birthday is coming up without mixing them into your regular calendar, you can create a separate calendar just for birthdays. Click the plus sign next to Other calendars and select Create new calendar. Name it "Birthdays" or "Important dates" or whatever makes sense to you.

Now when you add a birthday, you can choose which calendar it goes into. Click Create, fill in the event details, and before you save, look for the calendar dropdown (usually near the top of the event form). Select your new birthday calendar instead of the default one. This keeps all birthdays in one place and lets you hide or show them with a single click.

You can also color-code different calendars. Right-click on the calendar name in the left sidebar and select a color. For example, you might make family birthdays blue and friend birthdays green. This makes it easier to scan your calendar at a glance and see what type of event is coming up.

Adding birthdays on mobile devices

The Google Calendar app on your phone or tablet works the same way as the desktop version. Open the app and tap the plus sign at the bottom right to create a new event. Type the person's name and birthday, toggle All day on, and tap Save. The birthday will sync across all your devices within a few minutes.

To subscribe to your Contacts birthdays on mobile, open the app, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left, scroll down to Settings, and select your Google account. Tap Calendars and look for Birthdays in the list. Toggle it on to display all birthdays from your contacts. If you do not see it, go back and tap Add calendar, then Subscribe to calendar, and choose Birthdays.

Editing or removing a birthday

If you need to change a birthday — because you entered the wrong date or the person's age — click on the event in your calendar. A popup appears with the event details. Click Edit event (or the pencil icon) to open the full editor. Change the date, time, or any other detail, then click Save.

If you want to delete a birthday, click on it and select Delete event. A menu appears asking whether you want to delete just this instance or all future instances. Since birthdays repeat every year, choose All events if you want to remove it completely. If you only want to delete it for one year, select This event.

Be careful when deleting a birthday that came from your Contacts. If you delete it from the calendar but the birthday is still saved in Google Contacts, it will reappear the next time Google syncs. To permanently remove it, delete the birthday from the contact itself in Google Contacts, not just from the calendar.

Sharing birthdays with family or roommates

If you want other people to see the birthdays on your calendar, you can share your calendar with them. Right-click on the calendar name in the left sidebar and select Settings and sharing. Scroll down to Share with specific people and click Add people. Type in the email addresses of the people you want to share with and choose whether they can view only or edit the calendar.

If you created a separate birthday calendar, you can share just that one instead of your entire calendar. This is useful if you want family members to see upcoming birthdays without seeing your work events or personal schedule. The people you share with will see the birthday calendar in their own Google Calendar and can set their own reminders.

You can also make a calendar public so anyone with the link can view it, though this is not recommended for personal information like birthdays. Stick to sharing with specific people you trust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Google Calendar remind me about birthdays automatically?

Yes. By default, Google Calendar sends a notification the day before each birthday. You can change when the reminder arrives or add multiple reminders by clicking the event, selecting Edit, and adjusting the Notifications section. You can also turn off reminders entirely if you prefer.

Can I import birthdays from Facebook or another service?

Google Calendar does not have a built-in import from Facebook, but you can add birthdays manually or pull them from Google Contacts. If your contacts have birthdays saved in other services, you may be able to export them and import them into Google Contacts first, then subscribe to the Birthdays calendar in Google Calendar.

What happens if I delete a birthday from my calendar?

If you delete a birthday that you created manually, it is gone. If you delete a birthday that came from your Contacts through the Birthdays calendar subscription, it will reappear when Google syncs again. To permanently remove it, delete the birthday from the contact in Google Contacts, not just from the calendar.

Can I see birthdays from multiple Google accounts in one calendar?

You can view multiple calendars at once in Google Calendar, but each account's Birthdays calendar is separate. If you have two Google accounts, you can add the second account to your calendar view and toggle both Birthdays calendars on. However, you cannot merge them into a single calendar.

How do I make a birthday repeat on a different date each year?

Google Calendar assumes birthdays repeat on the same date every year, which is correct for most cases. If you need an event to repeat on a different pattern — like the second Sunday in June — create it as a regular event instead of a birthday event and set up a custom recurrence rule in the event details.