How to Automatically Add Birthdays to Google Calendar

These little reminders help you remember others' big days

Person carrying birthday cake, group of friends in background
Cultura/Marcel Weber / Getty Images
by Heinz Tschabitscher
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated November 14, 2019

Adding birthdays to Google Calendar is like adding any other event. However, if you set up birthdays in Google Contacts, those birthdays are added to Google Calendar automatically when you sync Google Calendar with Google Contacts. This way, every birthday you enter in Google Contacts shows up as an event in Google Calendar.

Enable the Birthdays Calendar in Google Calendar

To enable the Birthdays calendar in Google Calendar:

  1. Google Calendar showing week view

  2. In the upper-left corner, select the menu (hamburger) icon. If needed, select the My calendars dropdown arrow to expand this section.

    Google Calendar showing week view and menu displayed

  3. Select the Birthdays calendar to enable it.

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

    Google Calendar showing week view and birthdays displayed

  4. Birthdays from your Google Contacts show in Google Calendar.

Set Up Birthday Reminders

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.