How to Automatically Add Birthdays to Google Calendar

These little reminders help you remember others' big days

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on September 8, 2023
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
Jon Fisher headshot
Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • In Google Calendar, select the Main menu. Under My calendars, select the Birthdays check box to enable the Birthdays calendar.
  • Birthdays are synced automatically via Google Contacts. You must set up birthdays in Contacts to have them appear in Calendar.

If you set up birthdays in Google Contacts, those birthdays are added to your Google Calendar automatically when you sync Google Calendar with Google Contacts. In this guide, we show you how to add birthdays to Google Calendar on a desktop browser, just as you would any other event.

How to Add the Birthdays Calendar in Google Calendar

Enabling the Birthdays calendar in Google Calendar is quick and painless.

  1. Open Google Calendar.

    Google Calendar showing week view

  2. In the upper-left corner, select the hamburger menu. If needed, select the My calendars drop-down arrow to expand this section.

    If the upper-left menu is already open, when you select the hamburger menu, it will close. If the menu closes, just click it again to reopen it.

    Google Calendar showing week view and menu displayed

  3. Select Birthdays to enable it.

    Google Calendar showing week view and birthdays displayed

    If you don't see a Birthdays option, select Contacts.

  4. Birthdays from your Google Contacts should now appear in Google Calendar.

    Unlike other calendars, the Birthdays calendar cannot be set up to send notifications. If you want birthday reminders in Google Calendar, copy the individual birthdays to a personal calendar, then configure notifications there.

FAQ
  • How do I add a birthday to my Google Calendar?

    Add someone to your Google Contacts to automatically add their birthday to your calendar.

  • How do I remove a birthday from my Google Calendar?

    You can remove a contact's birthday from your calendar by deleting the contact completely. But if you want to get rid of the birthday without removing the contact, go to your Google Contacts and select the Pencil icon next to their name followed by Show More. Select the X next to their Birthday (on the right) to remove it, then Save.

Was this page helpful?