Playfair (surname)

Playfair is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Andrew W. Playfair (1790–1868), Canadian politician, son of William
• Sir Edward Playfair (1909–1999), British civil servant and businessman
• Henry Playfair (born 1983), Australian rules footballer
• Hugh Lyon Playfair (1787–1861), Provost of St Andrews
• Ian Stanley Ord Playfair (1894–1972), a general in the British Army
• James Playfair (1755–1794), Scottish architect, brother of John, Robert and William, father of William Henry
• Jim Playfair (born 1964), Canadian ice hockey player and coach, brother of Larry
• John Playfair (1748–1819), Scottish scientist, mathematician, and professor of natural philosophy; brother of James, Robert and William
• Judy Playfair (born 1953), Australian swimmer
• Sir Lambert Playfair (1828–1899), British soldier and author
• Larry Playfair (born 1958), Canadian ice hockey player and announcer, brother of Jim
• Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair (1818–1898), promoter of the Playfair cipher, manual symmetric encryption technique
• Sir Nigel Playfair (1874–1934), British actor and theater manager
• Patrick Playfair (1889–1974), British air marshal in World War I & World War II
• Robert Playfair (died 1825), solicitor before the Supreme Courts of Scotland, brother of John, James and William.
• Wendy Playfair, Australian actress
• William Playfair (1759–1823), Scottish engineer and political economist, inventor of statistical graphics, brother of James, Robert and John
• William Henry Playfair (1790–1857), Scottish architect (National Gallery of Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy), son of James
• John Playfair Price (1905–1988), British diplomat