Cerva is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
- Bernardino Cervi or Cerva, Italian painter
- Bernhard Caboga-Cerva (1785–1855), Austrian nobleman
- Elio Lampridio Cerva (1463–1520), Ragusan poet
- Giovan Battista della Cerva (1515–1580), Italian painter
- Giovanni Maria Cerva, Italian painter
- Serafino Cerva (1696–1759), Ragusan encyclopedian