William Coates may refer to:
Sir William Coates, 1st Baronet (1866–1932), Irish stockbroker, Lord Mayor of Belfast, 1920–1923, 1929–1931 William Coates (businessman) (1882–1963), British civil servant and businessman William Coates (longevity claimant) (1911–2004), American alleged centenarian W. P. Coates (William Peyton Coates, 1883–1963), Irish labour activist and communist William Coates (technician) (1919–1993), science communicator, lecturer and technician Paul Coates (publisher) (William Paul Coates, born 1946), African-American publisher and father of Ta-Nehisi Coates
See also Coates (disambiguation)