Cawthra is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
John Cawthra (1789–1851), merchant, distiller and political figure in Upper Canada Joseph Cawthra (1759–1842), Canadian merchant and politician Joseph Hermon Cawthra (1886–1957), British sculptor John Philip Cawthra, birth name of Gypie Mayo (1951–2013), British musician Mark Cawthra (born 1961), British musician William Cawthra (1801–1880), the eldest son of Joseph Cawthra, patriarch of the Cawthra family in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
See also Cawthra family of Toronto, famous for its business, social and cultural contributions to the city Cawthra Park Secondary School, a public high school in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada