Day of the Week Calculator
Knowing which day of the week a past or future date falls on is useful when you are planning a birthday or an anniversary, wondering about the day of a historical event, or putting together an event or holiday schedule. Because the calendar follows a cycle that only repeats every 400 years, working this out from memory is practically impossible.
Enter a date and you immediately see the day of the week (Monday through Sunday). You also get the day number and week number within the year, how many days are left until the end of the year, and whether that year is a leap year. You can query any date, from the 1900s through the 2100s.
Formula
Day of the week = derived from the calendar cycle (the modern equivalent of Zeller's rule) Day of the year = the position of the date counted from January 1 (January 1 = 1) Week of the year = Day of the year ÷ 7 (rounded up) Leap year: the year is divisible by 4 and not by 100, or it is divisible by 400
The common mistake with leap years is to look only at divisibility by 4: 1900 is divisible by 4 but is not a leap year (it is divisible by 100 and not by 400), while 2000 is.
How to Calculate
- Pick the date you want to look up — it defaults to today.
- Read the day of the week at the top of the results section.
- Check the day and week number within the year and how many days are left until the end of the year.
- See whether the year is a leap year (365 or 366 days) in the last row.
Worked Examples
Calendar details for today
August 17, 2026 is a Monday. It is day 229 and week 33 of the year, with 136 days left until the end of the year. 2026 is not a leap year, so it runs 365 days.
Day of the week: Monday · Date: Monday, August 17, 2026 · Day of the year: Day 229
The first day of the millennium
January 1, 2000 was a Saturday — day 1 and week 1 of the year. Because 2000 is exactly divisible by 400, it is a leap year despite falling at the start of a century, and it ran 366 days; on that day, 365 days remained until the end of the year.
Day of the week: Saturday · Date: Saturday, January 1, 2000 · Day of the year: Day 1
The leap day: February 29
February 29, 2024 is a Thursday and is day 60, a date that only exists in leap years. Because 2024 is divisible by 4 and not by 100, it is a leap year of 366 days, with 306 days left until the end of the year.
Day of the week: Thursday · Date: Thursday, February 29, 2024 · Day of the year: Day 60