Cardenal is a surname of Spanish origin. People with that name include:
Ernesto Cardenal (born 1925), Nicaraguan cleric and liberation theologian
Fernando Cardenal (1934–2016), Nicaraguan cleric and liberation theologian
José Cardenal (born 1943), Cuban-American former baseball player
José Francisco Cardenal (born 1940), Nicaraguan businessman and rebel
Juan Pablo Cardenal (born 1968), Spanish journalist and sinologist
Katia Cardenal (born 1963), Nicaraguan singer/songwriter
Peire Cardenal (1180–1278), Occitan troubadour
Salvador Cardenal (1960–2010), Nicaraguan singer/songwriter
Xavier Chamorro Cardenal (1932–2008), Nicaraguan editor of El Nuevo Diario, a Nicaraguan newspaper
