← 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
Alfonso XII of Spain0 decades - 2
Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz5 decades - 3
Carlota Joaquina of Spain14 decades - 4
Mercedes of Orléansnot measured- - 5
Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara22 decades - 6
Infante Francisco de Paula of Spainnot measured- - 7
Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony15 decades - 8
Charles II, Duke of Parma0 decades - 9
Queen Maria Isabel of Spain20 decades - 10
Luisa Fernanda of Spain, Duchess of Montpensier2 decades - 11
Maria Isabella of Spain0 decades - 12
Maria Luisa I, Duchess of Luccanot measured- - 13
Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal4 decades - 14
Infante Enrique of Spainnot measured- - 15
Ali Bey al-Abbasinot measured- - 16
María Teresa de Borbón, 15th Countess of Chinchónnot measured- - 17
María Manuela Kirkpatricknot measured- - 18
Princess Maria Cristina of Orléansnot measured- - 19
Robert Bontine Cunninghame Grahamnot measured- - 20
Cayetano Valdés y Flóreznot measured- - 21
María Amparo Muñoz, 1st Countess of Vista Alegrenot measured- - 22
Carlota de Godoy, 2nd Duchess of Suecanot measured- - 23
José María Narváeznot measured- - 24
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 15th Duke of Albanot measured- - 25
Emilio Bonellinot measured- - 26Antonio Armijonot measured-
- 27
Fernando Villaamilnot measured- - 28Carlos O'Donnell y Anethannot measured-
- 29Juan Carrasconot measured-
- 30
Eugenio Eulalio Palafox Portocarreronot measured- - 31
Carlos Martínez de Irujo y del Alcázarnot measured- - 32
José María de Orbe y Gaytán de Ayalanot measured- - 33
María Jacinta Martínez de Sicilia y Santa Cruznot measured- - 34Ricardo María de Arredondonot measured-
- 35José Carderonot measured-
- 36
Andrés Avelino de Salabert y Arteaganot 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.