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 Hebrew books during the 1990s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Haggaiborn 550 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures18
  2. 2Rav Ashi352-427 · 4th century12
  3. 3Reuven Rivlinborn 1939 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians11
  4. 4Yitzhak Rabin1922-1995 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians10
  5. 5Shimon Peres1923-2016 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians8.8
  6. 6Menachem Begin1913-1992 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians8.3
  7. 7Moshe Dayan1915-1981 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians7.8
  8. 8Ahad Ha'am1856-1927 · 19th century · Russia · Writers6.8
  9. 9Saadia Gaon882-942 · 10th century · Academics6.5
  10. 10Josephus37-100 · 1st century · Writers5.5
  11. 11Golda Meir1898-1978 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians5.1
  12. 12Yitzhak Shamir1915-2012 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians4.5
  13. 13Moses Sofer1762-1839 · 18th century4.5
  14. 14Hai Gaon939-1038 · 10th century · Writers4.2
  15. 15Nathan the Babylonianborn 101 · 2nd century4.2
  16. 16Simeon ben Gamliel IIborn 100 · 2nd century4.2
  17. 17Benjamin Netanyahuborn 1949 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians4.1
  18. 18Paul the Apostle5-66 · 1st century · Turkey · Writers3.9
  19. 19Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg1150-1217 · 12th century · Academics3.8
  20. 20Johanan ben Zakai50 BC-70 · 1st millennium BC3.8
  21. 21Sabbatai Zevi1626-1676 · 17th century · Turkey · Religious Figures3.6
  22. 22Moshe Sharett1894-1965 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.6
  23. 23Amos Oz1939-2018 · 20th century · Israel · Writers3.4
  24. 24Ehud Barakborn 1942 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.3
  25. 25Ariel Sharon1928-2014 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.2
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.