Excel WEEKDAY Function

WEEKDAY returns a number representing the day of week for an Excel date.

Use it to flag weekends, assign rotating schedules, group dates by weekday, or build rules where Monday, Friday, Saturday, or another weekday needs special handling.

Choose a date Use a real Excel date value

Choose numbering Optional return type controls the start day

Return a weekday number The result is ready for tests or labels

WEEKDAY syntax & arguments

Syntax

=WEEKDAY(serial_number, [return_type])

Required Optional

1

serial_number
Required

The Excel date value, cell reference, or formula result whose weekday number should be returned.
2
return_type
Optional

Controls which day starts the numbering system:
- 1 — Sunday is 1: Returns 1 for Sunday through 7 for Saturday. This is the default when the argument is omitted.
- 2 — Monday is 1: Returns 1 for Monday through 7 for Sunday.
- 3 — Monday is 0: Returns 0 for Monday through 6 for Sunday.
- 11 — Monday is 1: Returns 1 for Monday through 7 for Sunday.
- 12 — Tuesday is 1: Returns 1 for Tuesday through 7 for Monday.
- 13 — Wednesday is 1: Returns 1 for Wednesday through 7 for Tuesday.
- 14 — Thursday is 1: Returns 1 for Thursday through 7 for Wednesday.
- 15 — Friday is 1: Returns 1 for Friday through 7 for Thursday.
- 16 — Saturday is 1: Returns 1 for Saturday through 7 for Friday.
- 17 — Sunday is 1: Returns 1 for Sunday through 7 for Saturday.

Example

=WEEKDAY(A2, 2)

Return the weekday number for A2 using Monday as 1 and Sunday as 7.

WEEKDAY caveats

The source should be a real date

WEEKDAY expects a real Excel date value, such as a date cell, a date serial number, or a date assembled with DATE.
The default starts on Sunday

If return_type is omitted, Sunday returns 1 and Saturday returns 7.
It can only return a number, not a name

Use TEXT with a format like "ddd" when you need a label such as Mon or Tue.