William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale (1676 – 2 March 1744), was a Scottish Catholic nobleman who took part in the Jacobite rising of 1715. He was attainted with his titles forfeited. However, Lord Nithsdale made a celebrated escape from the Tower of London by changing clothes with his wife's maid the day before he was due to be executed. The lordship of Herries of Terregles was later restored to his descendants and remains extant.