Harper as a surname

• Alan Harper (1944— ), Anglican primate

• Alan Harper (1960— ), English footballer

• Ben Harper (1817–1887), American politician

• Ben Harper (1969— ), American musician

• Bill Harper (1897–1989), Scottish football (soccer) goalkeeper

• Billy Harper (1943—), American jazz saxophonist

• Blake Harper (1968— ), Canadian pornographic actor

• Bruce Harper Retired gridiron football player for New York Jets

• Charley Harper (1922—2007), American artist and illustrator

• Clifford Harper (1949— ), English anarchist and cartoonist

• Colin Harper (b.1946), English footballer and football manager

• Daryl Harper (1951— ), Australian Test cricket umpire

• David Harper, British biologist, aka DGC Harper

• Dawn Harper (1984- ), US gold medalist in 100 meter hurdles

• Dean Harper (1983- ), English Footballer

• Derek Harper (1961— ), American former professional basketball player

• Edith Harper, pseudonym of Anna Wickham (1884–1947), British poet and feminist

• Edward Eugene Harper (1946– ), currently FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive

• Elijah Harper (1949— ), Aboriginal Cree Canadian politician and band chief

• Emily Harper (1981— ), American actress

• Frances Harper (1825–1911), American abolitionist and poet

• Gisèle Côté-Harper, Canadian law professor and human rights activist

• Graeme Harper, British television director

• Hannah Harper (1982— ), British actress

• Heather Harper (1930— ), Irish operatic soprano

• Hill Harper (1973— ), American film, television and stage actor

• Jessica Harper (1949— ), American actress and producer, singer and author of children's music and books

• John Harper (politician), former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives

• John Ernest Harper (29 May 1874-27 May 1949), Royal Navy Admiral

• John L. Harper, British biologist

• John William Harper (1916–1944), English recipient of the Victoria Cross

• Kevin Harper (1976— ), Scottish Association Football player

• Louis Harper, Scottish civil engineer

• Lynne Harper (1946–1959), Canadian murder victim

• Mark Harper (contemporary), British politician, Member of Parliament

• Nick Harper (1965— ), British singer/songwriter/guitarist, son of Roy Harper

• Pat Harper, American TV news anchorwoman who, for a story, pretended to be homeless

• Peter Harper, blues musician

• Reg Harper (contemporary), Canadian politician from Prince Edward Island

• Richard Harper, American professor

• Robert Goodloe Harper (1765–1825), American politician, senator from Maryland

• Robin Harper (1940— ), Scottish politician, Member of the Scottish Parliament

• Roger Harper (1963— ), West Indian cricket player

• Ron Harper (1964— ), American basketball player

• Roy Harper (1941— ), British singer-songwriter, father of Nick Harper

• Skinny Bobby Harper (1939–2003), American radio and video DJ

• Stephen Harper (1959— ), current (22nd) Prime Minister of Canada

• Steve Harper (footballer) (1975— ), English football player

• Susan Harper (1952— ), Canadian diplomat

• Tom Harper, former coach of the Wake Forest college football program

• Tom Harper, a pseudonym for novelist Edwin Thomas (1977— )

• Tommy Harper (1940— ), American former baseball player

• Valerie Harper (1940— ), American actress

• William Allen Harper, JFK assassination witness

• William Claude Harper (born 1944), American jewelry artist

• William Edmund Harper (1878–1940), Canadian astronomer

• William Harper (composer & photographer) (1949-), composer

• William Harper (South Carolina) (1790–1847), a US Senator from South Carolina

• William Rainey Harper (1856–1906), first president of the University of Chicago

Harper as a given name

• Harper Goff (1911–1993), American artist, musician, and actor

• Harper Lee (born 1926), American novelist

Fictional people

• Kate Harper, character on the television show The West Wing

• Owen Harper, one of the main protagonists in the television series Torchwood

• Patrick Harper (fiction), character in the television series Sharpe

• Seamus Zelazny Harper, character in the television series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda

• Charlie Harper, character in the television series Two and a Half Men

• Alan Harper, character in the television series Two and a half Men

• Several characters in the American sitcom Mama's Family:

• * Ellen Harper

• * Naomi Harper

• * Thelma Harper

• * Vinton "Vint" Harper

• Several characters in the British sitcom My Family:

• * Ben Harper

• * Susan Harper

• * Michael Harper

• * Nick Harper

• * Janey Harper

• Dick and Jane Harper in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane and the 2005 remake

• Sally Harper in the BBC comedy 'Coupling'

• Harper Finkle a character in the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place.