Fairfax is both a surname of English (Yorkshire and Northumberland, with a few branches later settling in Scotland) origin which means "fair hair",
and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
*
Alan Fairfax
Alan Geoffrey Fairfax (16 June 1906 – 17 May 1955) was an Australian cricketer who played in ten Test matches from 1929 to 1931. He was an all rounder.
Fairfax had a rapid rise to international honours, making his test debut the same season ...
(1906–1955), Australian cricketer
*
Daphne Fairfax, a British comedian
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Edward Fairfax
Edward Fairfax (c. 1580 – 27 January 1635) was an English translator. He translated Torquato Tasso's ''Jerusalem Delivered''. He also wrote an original work on demonology.
Life
He was the natural son of Sir Thomas Fairfax the elder, of Den ...
, translator
*
Henry Fairfax (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Henry Fairfax (21 January 1837 – 20 March 1900) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to serve as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.
Naval career
Fairfax was born in 1837, the third son of Sir Henry Fairfax, 1st Baronet. He joined ...
, British Admiral and Naval Commander K.C.B., F.R.G.S.,
*
James Fairfax
James Oswald Fairfax (27 March 1933 – 11 January 2017) was an Australian company director, philanthropist, and a member of the Fairfax family, an Australian family prominent in the newspaper publisher industry.
Biography
Fairfax was born in S ...
(1933–2017), Australian businessman and philanthropist
*
John Fairfax (disambiguation), name of several notable people
:*
John Fairfax (delegate)
John Scott Fairfax (December 10, 1762 – December 25, 1843) was an early American planter and politician in western Virginia, who twice served in the Virginia House of Delegates but may be best known for six years he spent as one of the overseers ...
(1762-1843), manager for George Washington
:*
John Fairfax (minister) (1623–1700), English ejected minister
:*
John Fairfax, 11th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1830–1900), British peer with American citizenship
:*
John Fairfax (poet) (1930–2009), English poet
:*
John Fairfax (rower)
John Fairfax (21 May 1937 – 8 February 2012) was a British ocean rower and adventurer who, in 1969, rowed across the Atlantic and became the first person to row solo across an ocean. He subsequently went on to become the first to row the Paci ...
(1937–2012), British ocean rower and adventurer
*
Justin Fairfax
Justin Edward Fairfax (born February 17, 1979) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the second African-American elected statewide i ...
, American Democratic politician and lieutenant governor of Virginia
*
Lance Fairfax (1894–1974), New Zealand baritone in Australia
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Lettice Fairfax
Lettice Fairfax (March 26, 1876 – December 25, 1948) was an English stage and silent film actress. She is known for her roles in the Edwardian musical comedy '' An Artist's Model'' (1895) and in silent cinema such as '' Brother Officers'' as ...
(1876-1948)
*
Lettice Helen Compton Mackenzie Fairfax(1898-2010) English Shakespearean & classical actress.
*
Lettice Coutte Mackenzie Campbell fairfax Lettice is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Lettice Boyle, wife of George Goring, Lord Goring
* Lettice Bryan (1805–1877), American author
* Lettice Cooper (1897–1994), English writer
*Lettice ...
(1923-1959) English Shakespearean actress
*
Lettice Coutte Mackenzie Campbell Fairfax Lettice is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Lettice Boyle, wife of George Goring, Lord Goring
* Lettice Bryan (1805–1877), American author
* Lettice Cooper (1897–1994), English writer
*Lettice ...
(1959-) English actress TV & stage
*
Robert Fairfax (disambiguation), several people:
:*
Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron MP (1707–1793), was a member of the Scottish peerage and politician. He died at Leeds Castle, England, which he inherited from his mother Catherine, daughter of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper ...
(1707–1793)
:*
Robert Fairfax (rear-admiral)
Robert Fairfax (February 1666 – 17 October 1725) was a rear admiral and politician.
Origins and early life
Robert Fairfax was born in Newton Kyme, and baptised in the chapel in Steeton, North Yorkshire on 23 February 1666. He was the secon ...
(1666–1725)
:*
Robert Fayrfax
Robert Fayrfax (23 April 1464 – 24 October 1521) was an English Renaissance composer, considered the most prominent and influential of the reigns of Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII of England.
Biography
He was born in Deeping Gate, Linco ...
(1464–1521), English Renaissance composer
*
Ruth Fairfax
Ruth Beatrice Fairfax (8 October 1878 – 1 February 1948) was a founding member of the Australian Country Women's Association and the first President of the Queensland Country Women's Association. The federal electorate of Fairfax is named in ...
, first president of the Queensland Country Women's Association
*
Russell Fairfax
Russell Lance Fairfax (born 29 March 1952, Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former Rugby Union and Rugby League player. A precocious talent, he played his first rugby international while still at school. Having played eight tests for ...
, Australian rugby league footballer
*
Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, parliamentarian general in the English Civil War
*
Thomas Fairfax (Gilling)
Sir Thomas Fairfax ( – 1520) was an owner of Gilling Castle, near Gilling East, North Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Sir Thomas Fairfax (father)
Fairfax's father, also named Thomas, was presumably a supporter of the House of York in the Wars ...
, 16th-century owner of Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire
*
Warwick Oswald Fairfax
Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax (19 December 1901 – 14 January 1987) was an Australian businessman prominent in the arts as a philanthropist, journalist and playwright. He was a member of the wealthy Fairfax family of media proprietors.
Biography ...
, (1901–1987), Australian businessman, journalist and playwright
*
Warwick Fairfax
Warwick Fairfax (born December 1960) is an Australian businessman and consultant based in the United States. He was well known in the 1990s as the media heir and business tycoon who privatised the publicly listed media company, John Fairfax Hold ...
(born 1960), Australian businessman, son of W. O. Fairfax
*
William Fairfax
William Fairfax (1691–1757) was a political appointee of the British Crown in several colonies as well as a planter and politician in the Colony of Virginia. Fairfax served as Collector of Customs in Barbados, Chief Justice and governor of the ...
, 18th-century colonial official and plantation owner in Virginia
*
William George Fairfax
Sir William George Fairfax (8 March 1739 – 7 November 1813) was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and the progenitor of the Fairfax Baronets. His most notable service was as Admiral Adam Duncan's flag captain on board HMS ''Venerable'' du ...
, a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy
*
Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Lord Fairfax of Cameron is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Despite holding a Scottish peerage, the Lords Fairfax of Cameron are members of an ancient Yorkshire family, of which the Fairfax baron ...
(multiple individuals), a title in the Peerage of Scotland
*
Viscount Fairfax of Emley
Viscount Fairfax of Emley, in the County of Tipperary, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 10 February 1629 for Sir Thomas Fairfax, previously Member of Parliament for Hedon. The fifth Viscount was Lord Lieutenant of the North ...
(multiple individuals), a title in the Peerage of Ireland
Given name:
*
Fairfax M. Cone (1903–1977), American businessman
*
Fairfax Downey (1893–1990), American writer and military historian
*
Fairfax Fenwick (1852–1920), New Zealand cricketer
*
Fairfax Harrison
Fairfax Harrison (March 13, 1869 – February 2, 1938) was an American lawyer, businessman, and writer. The son of the secretary to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Harrison studied law at Yale University and Columbia University befor ...
(1869–1938), American president of Southern Railway and author
* Sir
Fairfax Moresby
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby GCB (29 November 1786 – 21 January 1877) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the unsuccessful expedition to capture Ferrol in Spain during the French Revolutionary Wars. He ...
(1786–1877), Royal Navy officer
Fictional characters:
* Gavin Fairfax, a
character played by John D. Collins on the British sitcom series Allo 'Allo!''
* Colonel Fairfax, a character in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera ''
The Yeomen of the Guard
''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...
''.
* Mrs. Fairfax, a character in Charlotte Brontë's novel ''
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
''
* Jane Fairfax, a character in Jane Austen's novel ''
Emma''
* Gwendolyn Fairfax, a character in Oscar Wilde's play ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''
See also
*
Fairfax (disambiguation)
References
{{given name, type=both
English-language surnames
Surnames of Scottish origin