Fairbairn is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Andrew Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people
Bill Fairbairn (William John Fairbairn, 1947–), Canadian ice hockey player
Bruce Fairbairn (1949–1999), Canadian musician, songwriter and producer
Carolyn Fairbairn, Former member of the BBC Executive Board. Director of corporate development and strategy at ITV
Charles Fairbairn, Canadian politician, member for Victoria South (1890–1896)
David Fairbairn (politician) (1917–1994), Australian politician and cabinet minister
David Fairbairn (artist) (born 1949), Australian painter and printmaker
Douglas Fairbairn, Co-developer of the Xerox NoteTaker, one of the first portable computers
Douglas Fairbairn, Author of the novel Shoot
Esmée Fairbairn – see Esmée Fairbairn Charitable Trust
George Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people
Ian Fairbairn (1896–1968), British financier and rower
Ian 'Walter' Fairbairn, English folk musician
Irene Fairbairn
Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford, British athlete who competed in 1908 Olympics. (800m & 1500m)
James Fairbairn (1897–1940), Australian Politician. Minister for Air and Civil Aviation. Killed in the Canberra air disaster, 1940
James Fairbairn, Author of Fairbairn's Book of Crests of Families of Great Britain and Ireland, (2 Vols.) T.C. & E.C. Jack, London, 1905
Jean Fairbairn, fictional reporter in Lillian Stewart Carl's Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron series of novels
John Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people
Joyce Fairbairn (1939–), Canadian senator and cabinet minister
Ka'imi Fairbairn (1984–), American football player
Nicholas Fairbairn (1933–1995), British Politician
Patrick Fairbairn (1805–1874), Scottish theologian
Peter Fairbairn (1799–1861), Scottish engineer
Rhea Fairbairn (1890–1953), Canadian amateur tennis player
Robert A. Fairbairn, part owner of American thoroughbred racehorse High Quest
Ronald Fairbairn (William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn, 1889–1964), British psychoanalyst, father of Nicholas Fairbairn
Steve Fairbairn (1862–1938), Australian born rowing coach active in Cambridge and London
Sydney Fairbairn MC (1892–1943), English cricketer and British Army officer
Thomas Fairbairn, 2nd Baronet (1823–1891), English industrialist and art collector
Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn (politician) (1840–1874), Canadian politician
Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn, Invented (in 1922) an artificial green for miniature golf which led to the "American minigolf boom of the early 20th century"
William Fairbairn (Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick, 1789–1874), Scottish engineer
William E. Fairbairn (1885–1960), British soldier, police officer, and WW II commando trainer
William John Fairbairn (1947–) – see Bill Fairbairn
William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn (1889–1964) – see Ronald Fairbairn
