MacPherson or Macpherson is a surname, meaning "son of the parson" in Scottish Gaelic. Notable people with the surname include:
In sports
- Archie Macpherson, Scottish football commentator
- Bruce MacPherson (field hockey), Canadian field hockey player
- Bryden Macpherson, Australian amateur golfer
- Duncan MacPherson, ice hockey player
- Gus MacPherson, Scottish footballer
- Jeff MacPherson, driver in the CART Championship Car series
- Michelle MacPherson, Canadian swimmer
In politics
- Ben Macpherson (politician), Scottish politician
- C. B. Macpherson, Canadian academic
- Dean Macpherson, South African politician
- Hector Macpherson, Sr. (1875–1970), Canadian-American agricultural economics professor and politician
- Hector Macpherson, Jr. (1918–2015), American farmer and politician
- James Ian Macpherson, British lawyer and politician
- John Alexander MacPherson, Australian politician
- John MacPherson (governor of India), Scottish administrator in India
- John Thomas Macpherson (1872–1921), English politician
- Malcolm MacPherson (1904–1971), Scottish politician
- Murdoch MacPherson, Canadian politician
- Niall Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn, Scottish politician
- Nicholas Macpherson, British civil servant
- Thomas Macpherson, 1st Baron Macpherson of Drumochter (1888–1965), Scottish politician
In music
- Ben Macpherson, Australian musician
- Christina Macpherson, Australian behind Waltzing Matilda
- Fraser MacPherson, Canadian jazz musician
- Greg MacPherson, Canadian singer-songwriter
- Graham MacPherson, better known as Suggs, the lead singer of the English band Madness
- Jim Macpherson, United States percussionist
- Linda Lizotte-MacPherson, Canadian public servant
- Sandy MacPherson, Canadian theatre organist
- Donald Macpherson BEM was a Scottish bagpipe player, and one of the most successful competitive solo pipers of all time
In literature
- James Macpherson, Scottish poet
- Jay Macpherson, Canadian poet
In show business and news
- Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television presenter
- Don Macpherson, Canadian journalist
- Duncan Macpherson, Canadian editorial cartoonist
- Elle Macpherson, Australian supermodel and actress
- Gordon Macpherson, Founder of Macpherson Menswear - Palmerston North, New Zealand.
- Hector Macpherson (1851–1924), Scottish journalist and writer
- Malcolm MacPherson (1943–2009), American journalist and author
- Myra MacPherson, American journalist and author
- Richard MacPherson, American actor
Others
- Alexander Macpherson, English architect
- Cluny MacPherson, Newfoundland medical doctor and inventor of the gas mask
- Donald Macpherson (disambiguation), several people
- Earle S. MacPherson, the Ford engineer who developed the MacPherson strut in the 1940s
- Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, Scottish Jacobite
- Fiona Macpherson, FRSE, MAE, Scottish Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience, University of Glasgow
- Hector Macpherson (astronomer) (1888-1956), Scottish clergyman and astronomer, son of Hector C. Macpherson
- Jamie Macpherson, Scottish outlaw, famed for his lament
- John Macferson, early 18th century English pirate
- Sir Macpherson Robertson, Australian philanthropist and entrepreneur
- Robert Macpherson (disambiguation), multiple people
- Colonel Ronald MacPherson or Ranald MacPherson (1817–1869), architect and colonial administrator
- Colonel Tommy Macpherson, British army officer
- Sir William Macpherson, High Court Judge in England
Fictional characters
- Anya MacPherson, fictional character in Degrassi: The Next Generation
See also
- Clan Macpherson, a Scottish clan
- The Macpherson Report, into the death of Black British teenage Stephen Lawrence
- MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co.
- MacPherson strut, a car suspension system
- MacPherson, Singapore
- Macpherson Stadium (disambiguation)
- McPherson (disambiguation)