Ayres is a surname that has origins in the Scottish borderland with England. Notable people with the surname include:
Agnes Ayres (1898–1940), American silent film actor Alice Ayres (1859–1885), English nursemaid, honored for rescuing her three nieces from a burning building at the cost of her own life Anne Ayres (1816–1886), American Episcopalian nun Benjamin Ayres (born 1977) an actor, director, photographer Benjamin Ayres (instrument maker) (died c. 1775), an English instrument maker Bill Ayres (1941–2026), American radio talk show host, co-founder and executive director of World Hunger Year Carlos Augusto Ayres de Freitas Britto (born 1942), a Brazilian jurist and was a Justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil. Caroline Ayres (born 1981), English basketball player Christopher Ayres (1965–2021), American voice actor Clara Ayres (1880–1917), American nurse during the First World War Clarence Edwin Ayres (1891–1972), American economist David Ayres (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey goaltender David Ayres (soldier) (1841–1916), Union Army Medal of Honor recipient Ed Ayres (disambiguation), multiple people Gary Ayres (born 1960), Australian rules footballer and coach Gillian Ayres (1930–2018), British painter Greg Ayres (born 1968), American voice actor Harry Ayres (footballer) (1920–2002), British footballer Harry Ayres (mountaineer) (1912–1987), New Zealand guide and mountaineer Helen Ayres, Australian violinist, member of the Seraphim Trio Ian Ayres (born 1959), American professor at Yale Law School and Yale School of Management Ian Ayres (filmmaker), American filmmaker João Maria Correia Ayres de Campos, 1st Count of Ameal (1847–1920), Portuguese humanist, politician and art-collector José Márcio Ayres (1954–2003), Brazilian primatologist and conservationist Leonard Porter Ayres (1879–1946), American statistician Lew Ayres (1908–1996), American actor Lewis Ayres, lay Catholic theologian Mark Ayres (born 1961), British electronic musician, composer & audio engineer Nita Jane Ayres, American politician Pam Ayres (born 1947), British writer of humorous poetry Philip Ayres (poet) (1638–1712), English poet Philip Burnard Ayres (1813–1863), British physician and botanist Richard Ayres (born 1965), British composer Robert Ayres (disambiguation), multiple people Romeyn B. Ayres (1825–1888), Union general in the American Civil War Rosalind Ayres (born 1946), British actress Stuart Ayres (born 1980), Australian politician Sydney Ayres (1879–1916), American silent film actor and director Thomas Ayres (artist) (1816–1858), California gold rush-era artist Thomas Ayres (ornithologist) (1828–1913), British-born South African ornithologist Thomas E. Ayres (born 1962), American military lawyer Tim Ayres (born 1973), Australian politician and trade unionist Tim Ayres (artist), born in England Venâncio de Oliveira Ayres (1841–1885) Brazilian Journalist Vernon Ayres (1908–1968), Canadian ice hockey player Vivian Ayres (born 1972), Peruvian football player and manager William Orville Ayres (1817–1887), American physician and ichthyologist
See also Edward L. Ayers, American historian and educator Sir Henry Ayers (1821–1897), South Australian premier Ayers Rock, named for him (now Uluru)