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About National Girlfriend Day

An unofficial day with unknown beginnings, for thanking the women who matter most to us.

When is it?

National Girlfriend Day is on 1 August every year. The next one is on Sunday 1 August 2027. After that: Sunday 1 August 2027, Tuesday 1 August 2028 and Wednesday 1 August 2029.

It falls two months before National Boyfriend Day, which is on 3 October.

Where did it come from?

Nobody owns National Girlfriend Day, and its origins are unclear. Sources differ on how it began.

  • timeanddate.com lists it as a fun holiday on 1 August and says its creators are unknown. It says they may have meant it as a day to honour female friends, or as a day to celebrate romantic partners, and that it is not clear which.
  • A 2021 article by the beauty brand GLOSSYBOX says there is no official information on who created the day. It reports a claim that the owner of a wellness website started it in 2004, as a day for female friends to thank each other. We have not been able to confirm this.

A day with two meanings

The day works two ways because the word does. According to timeanddate.com, “girlfriend” was first used in 1863 to describe a woman’s female friend, and it came to mean a female romantic partner in the 1920s.

Today some people use the day to thank a partner. Others use it to praise the close female friends in their lives. Hopper HQ, which tracks social media dates, describes both. Whichever one you mean, you are welcome here.

How do people mark it?

Most people keep it simple: a message, a photo, a small gift or a date. Friends meet for brunch or a night out. Many share a picture online with #NationalGirlfriendDay.

Ideas for the day

Who runs this site?

National Girlfriend Day has no official organiser, and we do not claim to have started it. This site is the home of the day, run by Digital Alchemy FZ-LLC, a company based in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. Digital Alchemy runs sites for several well-loved awareness days, including National Boyfriend Day and National Kissing Day.

We publish ideas, run the Girlfriend Census, and work with brands that want to take part. If you have a question or a story about the day, please get in touch.

Sources