Abernethy is a surname whose origins link to a Scottish clan that descends from Orm de Abernethy, a grandson of Gille Míchéil, Earl of Fife that presumably settled at Abernethy, Perth and Kinross.

The name is of non-Gaelic Pictish origin, from a period when the Caledonian Welsh or Brytons controlled these lands. 'Aber' is modern Welsh for 'estuary' or 'confluence of rivers'.

Notable people who have this surname include:

• Alan Abernethy (born 1957), Irish bishop
• Alexander de Abernethy (died ca. 1315), Scottish magnate
• Alister Abernethy (1920–2003), New Zealand politician
• Arthur Talmage Abernethy (1872–1956), journalist, theologian, poet; first North Carolina Poet Laureate
• Bob Abernethy (1927–2021), American television journalist
• Bob Abernethy (footballer) (1900–1969), Australian rules footballer
• Bruce Abernethy (born 1962), Australian rules football player
• Bruce Abernethy (cricketer) (born 1958), New Zealand former cricketer
• Charles Laban Abernethy (1872–1955), American politician
• Darrell Abernethy (1949–2017), American Associate Director for Drug Safety at the Food and Drug Administration
• George Abernethy (1807–1877), American politician
• Georgina Abernethy (1859–1906), New Zealand suffragist and leader of Wesleyan women
• Glen Abernethy (born 1971), American politician
• Hugh Abernethy (born 1967), Scottish former professional snooker player
• Haymitch Abernathy, fictional character in the Hunger Games series of books and novels
• James Abernethy (1814–1896), British civil engineer
• Jim Abernethy (1902–1974), Australian rules footballer
• John Abernethy (judge) (born 1947), former State Coroner of New South Wales
• John Abernethy (minister) (1680–1740), Irish Presbyterian minister and church leader
• John Abernethy (surgeon) FRS (1764–1831), English surgeon
• LeRoy Abernethy (1885–1959), American college football player
• Liam Abernethy (1929–1980), Irish hurler
• Lord Abernethy, hereditary title in the Peerage of Scotland
• John Cameron, Lord Abernethy (born 1938), a Senator of the College of Justice of Scotland
• Meg of Abernethy (1355–1405), Scottish musician
• Milton A. Abernethy (died 1991), American journalist, magazine editor, business owner, and stockbroker
• Moira Abernethy (born 1939), South African swimmer
• Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990), American civil rights activist and minister
• Robert Abernethy (born 1971), Australian swimmer
• Robert J. Abernethy (born 1940), American entrepreneur and philanthropist
• Rod Abernethy, American video game music composer
• Roy Abernethy (1906–1977), American businessman
• Ruth Abernethy (born 1960), Canadian sculptor
• Terence Abernethy (born 1930), South African cricketer
• Thomas Abernethy (disambiguation), several people
• Tom Abernethy (born 1954), American professional basketball player
• Virginia Abernethy (born 1934), American professor of psychiatry and anthropology

Some notable people use Abernethy as their middle name:

• William Abernethy Drummond (1719–1809), bishop of Edinburgh
• Ralph Abernethy Gamble (1885–1959), American politician
• William Abernethy Ogilvie (1901–1989), Canadian painter and war artist