The name William Mackay (or MacKay) is associated with several notable individuals active during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the creative figures sharing the name are William Paton Mackay (1839–1885), a Scottish doctor, Presbyterian minister, and hymn writer, and William Mackay (1876–1939), an American artist.\n\nThe name also belongs to several prominent Canadian figures in law and politics. William Andrew MacKay (1929–2013) served as a Canadian lawyer, judge, and university president, while William MacKay (1847–1915) was a physician and political figure in Nova Scotia, and William John MacKay served as an Ontario politician. Additionally, William Alexander Mackay (1860–1927) was a Scottish doctor who co-founded Recreativo de Huelva, Spain's oldest football club.
