← Fame through time1800-1899
The 19th century
Whose names filled the books of the 19th century - 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 English books during the 19th century, whenever they lived.
- 1
Jesus94 - 2
Homer15 - 3
Cicero13 - 4
Augustus13 - 5
Plato10 - 6
Virgil9.6 - 7
Aristotle9.4 - 8
Socrates6.4 - 9
Herodotus6.2 - 10
Plutarch5.6 - 11
Ovid4.2 - 12
Strabo4.1 - 13
Charlemagne3.9 - 14
Demosthenes3.8 - 15
Lord Byron3.6 - 16
Livy3.4 - 17
Origen3.1 - 18
Cleopatra3.0 - 19
Xenophon3.0 - 20
Walter Scott3.0 - 21
Tertullian2.7 - 22
James II, Count of Urgell2.6 - 23
Robert Peel2.6 - 24
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor2.6 - 25
Pericles2.5
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 19th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Wilhelm II, German Emperornot measured- - 2
Empress Elisabeth of Austria0 decades - 3
William I, German Emperornot measured- - 4
Ludwig II of Bavarianot measured- - 5
Leopold I of Belgiumnot measured- - 6
Albert, Prince Consortnot measured- - 7
Frederick William III of Prussianot measured- - 8
Christian IX of Denmark16 decades - 9
August von Mackensen2 decades - 10
Carol I of Romanianot measured- - 11
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeldnot measured- - 12
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhinenot measured- - 13
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz0 decades - 14
Helmuth von Moltke the Younger0 decades - 15
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhinenot measured- - 16
Louise of Hesse-Kassel0 decades - 17
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria19 decades - 18
Victoria of Baden0 decades - 19
Maria Sophie of Bavaria0 decades - 20
Princess Ludovika of Bavarianot measured- - 21
Prince Louis of Battenberg0 decades - 22
Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gothanot measured- - 23
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourgnot measured- - 24
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge0 decades - 25
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenachnot measured- - 26
Elizabeth Alexeievna0 decades - 27
Sophia of Nassaunot measured- - 28
Feodora of Leiningennot measured- - 29
Wilhelm II of Württembergnot measured- - 30
Princess Charlotte of Prussianot measured- - 31
Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanovernot measured- - 32
Friedrich August II of Saxony21 decades - 33
Caroline of Baden0 decades - 34
Carl Ritter22 decades - 35
Maria Alexandrovna0 decades - 36
Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburgnot measured- - 37
Caroline Augusta of Bavaria0 decades - 38
Princess Helena, Duchess of Albanynot measured- - 39
Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerinnot measured- - 40
Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught and Strathearnnot measured- - 41
Duchess Helene in Bavarianot measured- - 42
Amalia of Oldenburg0 decades - 43
Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburgnot measured- - 44
Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands0 decades - 45
Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavarianot measured- - 46
Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hessenot measured- - 47
Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugalnot measured- - 48
Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburgnot measured- - 49
Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg and Gothanot measured- - 50
Duchess Mathilde Ludovika in Bavarianot measured- - 51
Queen Maria Theresa of Bavarianot measured- - 52
Carl Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenachnot measured- - 53
Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gothanot measured- - 54
Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignanonot measured- - 55
Princess Hilda of Nassau0 decades - 56
Prince Aribert of Anhaltnot measured- - 57
Queen Charlotte of Württembergnot measured- - 58
Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerinnot measured- - 59
Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerinnot measured- - 60
Princess Elisabeth of Anhaltnot measured- - 61
Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburgnot measured- - 62
Princess Marie of Baden0 decades - 63
Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitznot measured- - 64
Albert von Le Coqnot measured- - 65
Princess Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburgnot measured- - 66
Duchess Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerinnot measured- - 67
Karl von den Steinennot measured- - 68
Duke Adam of Württembergnot measured- - 69
Ernst Oppertnot measured- - 70Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburgnot measured-
- 71
Emil Körnernot measured- - 72
Kurt von Morgennot measured- - 73
Albert Grünwedelnot measured- - 74Friedrich Hornemannnot measured-
- 75
Wilhelm von Hohenaunot measured- - 76
August Kapplernot measured- - 77
Paul Güssfeldtnot measured- - 78
Joachim von Pfeilnot measured- - 79
Carl Hugo Hahnnot measured- - 80
Princess Mathilde of Schaumburg-Lippenot measured- - 81
Hugo Zöllernot measured- - 82
Albrecht Roschernot measured- - 83Heinrich Vogelsangnot measured-
- 84Richard Brennernot measured-
- 85
Hans von Ramsaynot measured- - 86Carl Alfred, 12th Duke of Croÿnot measured-
- 87
Hermann von Maltzannot measured- - 88
Eduard Dämelnot measured- - 89
Carl Ribbenot measured- - 90
Max Quedenfeldtnot measured-
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.