Cottrell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
- Frank Cottrell Boyce, British screenwriter and novelist
- Alan Cottrell, a British metallurgist and physicist
- Anthony Cottrell, one of the investors in the Port Phillip Association
- Chris Cottrell, an American entrepreneur
- Con Cottrell, an Irish sportsperson
- Frederick Gardner Cottrell, an American inventor and physical chemist
- James La Fayette Cottrell, an American politician from Alabama
- Jim Cottrell, an American football linebacker
- Lance Cottrell, Founder of Anonymizer, Inc. and the designer of the Mixmaster Protocol
- Leonard Cottrell, a British writer and archaeologist
- Louis Cottrell, Sr. (1878–1927), noted jazz drummer
- Louis Cottrell, Jr. (1911–1978), noted jazz reedist
- Myron Cottrell, the founder and owner of TPI Specialties
- Peter Cottrell, British historian and novelist
- Porter Cottrell, an American professional bodybuilder
- Raymond Cottrell, a Seventh-day Adventist theologian
- Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading
- T. J. Cottrell, an American football player
- Ted Cottrell, a defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers
- Thomas Cottrell, a Canadian politician from New Brunswick
- William Cottrell, a convicted arsonist
- Ann Cottrell Free, an American journalist
