215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1990-1999

The 1990s

Whose names filled the books of the 1990s - anyone at all, however long dead - counted as mentions per million words printed, so a period that simply published more does not inflate anyone.

Talked about then

Whose names appeared most in Spanish books during the 1990s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Francis Xavier1506-1552 · 16th century · Spain · Religious Figures5.6
  2. 2Octavio Paz1914-1998 · 20th century · Mexico · Writers5.5
  3. 3Lope de Vega1562-1635 · 16th century · Spain · Writers5.4
  4. 4Simón Bolívar1783-1830 · 19th century · Spain · Politicians5.1
  5. 5Fidel Castro1926-2016 · 20th century · Cuba · Politicians5.0
  6. 6John of God1495-1550 · 16th century · Portugal4.7
  7. 7Porfirio Díaz1830-1915 · 19th century · Mexico · Politicians4.5
  8. 8Benito Juárez1806-1872 · 19th century · Mexico · Politicians4.3
  9. 9Rubén Darío1867-1916 · 20th century · Nicaragua · Writers4.2
  10. 10Christopher Columbus1451-1506 · 15th century · Italy · Historical Figures4.0
  11. 11Andrés Bello1781-1865 · 19th century · Chile · Politicians3.9
  12. 12Ernesto Zedilloborn 1951 · 20th century · Mexico · Politicians3.4
  13. 13Antonio Machado1875-1939 · 20th century · Spain · Writers3.4
  14. 14Hernán Cortés1485-1547 · 16th century · Spain · Historical Figures3.2
  15. 15Venustiano Carranza1859-1920 · 19th century · Mexico · Politicians2.9
  16. 16John of the Cross1542-1591 · 16th century · Spain · Writers2.8
  17. 17Jorge Luis Borges1899-1986 · 20th century · Argentina · Writers2.8
  18. 18Felipe Gonzálezborn 1942 · 20th century · Spain · Politicians2.6
  19. 19Bartolomé de las Casas1484-1566 · 16th century · Spain · Writers2.5
  20. 20Juan Ramón Jiménez1881-1958 · 20th century · Spain · Writers2.5
  21. 21Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz1651-1695 · 17th century · Mexico · Writers2.3
  22. 22Carlos Fuentes1928-2012 · 20th century · Mexico · Writers2.3
  23. 23Emiliano Zapata1879-1919 · 20th century · Mexico · Activists2.2
  24. 24Pablo Neruda1904-1973 · 20th century · Chile · Writers2.2
  25. 25Federico García Lorca1898-1936 · 20th century · Spain · Writers2.1
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1990s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Michael Jackson1958-2009 · United States · Musicians5 decades
  2. 2Barack Obamaborn 1961 · United States · Politicians2 decades
  3. 3Steve Jobs1955-2011 · United States · Founders4 decades
  4. 4Pope Leo XIVborn 1955 · United States · Religious Figures0 decades
  5. 5Madonnaborn 1958 · United States · Musiciansnot measured-
  6. 6Osama bin Laden1957-2011 · Saudi Arabia · Historical Figures3 decades
  7. 7Diego Maradona1960-2020 · Argentina · Footballers4 decades
  8. 8Bill Gatesborn 1955 · United States · Founders4 decades
  9. 9Brad Pittborn 1963 · United States · Actors3 decades
  10. 10Nicolás Maduroborn 1962 · Venezuela · Politicians2 decades
  11. 11Michael Jordanborn 1963 · United States · Basketball Players4 decades
  12. 12Diana, Princess of Wales1961-1997 · United Kingdom · Historical Figures0 decades
  13. 13Kamala Harrisborn 1964 · United States · Politicians1 decades
  14. 14Johnny Deppborn 1963 · United States · Actors3 decades
  15. 15Tom Cruiseborn 1962 · United States · Actors4 decades
  16. 16Tom Hanksborn 1956 · United States · Actors4 decades
  17. 17Tupac Shakur1971-1996 · United States · Musicians3 decades
  18. 18Keanu Reevesborn 1964 · Canada · Actors3 decades
  19. 19Whitney Houston1963-2012 · United States · Musicians4 decades
  20. 20Keir Starmerborn 1962 · United Kingdom · Politicians0 decades
  21. 21Sandra Bullockborn 1964 · United States · Actors3 decades
  22. 22Jim Carreyborn 1962 · United States · Actors3 decades
  23. 23George Clooneyborn 1961 · United States · Actors3 decades
  24. 24Bruce Willisborn 1955 · United States · Actors4 decades
  25. 25Jeff Bezosborn 1964 · United States · Founders2 decades
Show 75 more

How to read these rankings

  • Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
  • Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
  • Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.