Fairfax is both a surname of English (Yorkshire and Northumberland, with a few branches later settling in Scotland) origin which means "fair hair",[1] and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
- Alan Fairfax (1906–1955), Australian cricketer
- Betty Fairfax (?-2010), American educator, counselor, and philanthropist
- Daphne Fairfax, a British comedian
- Edward Fairfax, translator
- Henry Fairfax (Royal Navy officer), British Admiral and Naval Commander K.C.B., F.R.G.S.,
- James Fairfax (1933–2017), Australian businessman and philanthropist
- Jean E. Fairfax (1920-2019), American educator, civil rights worker, community organizer, and philanthropist
- John Fairfax (disambiguation), name of several notable people
- Ruth Fairfax, first president of the Queensland Country Women's Association
- Russell Fairfax, Australian rugby league footballer
- Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, parliamentarian general in the English Civil War
- Thomas Fairfax (Gilling), 16th-century owner of Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire
- Warwick Oswald Fairfax, (1901–1987), Australian businessman, journalist and playwright
- Warwick Fairfax (born 1960), Australian businessman, son of W. O. Fairfax
- William Fairfax, 18th-century colonial official and plantation owner in Virginia
- William George Fairfax, a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy
- Lord Fairfax of Cameron (multiple individuals), a title in the Peerage of Scotland
- Viscount Fairfax of Emley (multiple individuals), a title in the Peerage of Ireland
Given name:
Fictional characters: