William (or Bill) Patterson may refer to:
- William Patterson (engineer) (1795–1869), 19th century engineer and boat builder
- William Patterson (New York) (1789–1838), U.S. Representative from New York
- William Patterson (Ohio) (1790–1868), U.S. Representative from Ohio
- William Albert Patterson (1841–1917), Canadian Member of Parliament
- William John Patterson (1886–1976), Canadian Premier of Saskatchewan
- William Patrick Patterson, American new age instructor
- Bill Patterson (footballer) (born 1888), Australian rules footballer at St Kilda
- William A. Patterson (1899–1980), president of United Airlines from 1934 until 1966
- William L. Patterson (1891–1980), American civil rights activist; US Communist Party leader
- William R. Patterson (born 1975), Americans motivational speaker
- R. William Patterson (1908–1994), American politician; former mayor of Dayton, Ohio
- Billy Patterson (1918–1998), American football player for the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates
- William Patterson, author of subjects and dialogues for the comic strip Jeff Hawke
- Bill Patterson (racing driver) (1923–2010), Australian motor racing driver
- William Patterson (politician), former Alberta MLA, 1959–1967
- William Patterson (cricketer) (1859–1946), English amateur cricketer
- William Patterson (priest) (1930–2002), Anglican priest