215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time2000-2009

The 2000s

Whose names filled the books of the 2000s - 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 German books during the 2000s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Thomas Mann1875-1955 · 20th century · United States · Writers14
  2. 2Max Weber1864-1920 · 19th century · Germany · Academics6.3
  3. 3Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers5.5
  4. 4Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics4.2
  5. 5Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers3.8
  6. 6Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians3.5
  7. 7Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures3.2
  8. 8Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians3.1
  9. 9Gerhard Schröderborn 1944 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians2.8
  10. 10Heinrich Heine1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers2.8
  11. 11Willy Brandt1913-1992 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians2.8
  12. 12Walter Benjamin1892-1940 · 20th century · Academics2.7
  13. 13Sigmund Freud1856-1939 · 19th century · Austria · Doctors2.6
  14. 14Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors2.6
  15. 15Heinrich Mann1871-1950 · 20th century · Germany · Writers2.6
  16. 16Helmut Kohl1930-2017 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians2.6
  17. 17Friedrich Nietzsche1844-1900 · 19th century · Germany · Academics2.5
  18. 18Hannah Arendt1906-1975 · 20th century · United States · Academics2.3
  19. 19Bertolt Brecht1898-1956 · 20th century · Austria · Writers2.3
  20. 20Jürgen Habermas1929-2026 · 20th century · Germany · Academics2.2
  21. 21Karl Kraus1874-1936 · 20th century · Austria · Writers2.1
  22. 22Carl Schmitt1888-1985 · 20th century · Germany · Academics2.1
  23. 23Günter Grass1927-2015 · 20th century · Germany · Writers2.1
  24. 24Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures2.1
  25. 25Immanuel Kant1724-1804 · 18th century · Academics2.1
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 2000s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Elon Muskborn 1971 · South Africa · Founders1 decades
  2. 2Leonardo DiCaprioborn 1974 · United States · Actors3 decades
  3. 3Justin Trudeauborn 1971 · Canada · Politicians1 decades
  4. 4Melania Trumpborn 1970 · Slovenia · Models1 decades
  5. 5Nicole Kidmanborn 1967 · Australia · Actors3 decades
  6. 6Eminemborn 1972 · United States · Musicians2 decades
  7. 7Zinedine Zidaneborn 1972 · France · Footballers3 decades
  8. 8Christopher Nolanborn 1970 · United Kingdom · Directors2 decades
  9. 9Matt Damonborn 1970 · United States · Actors3 decades
  10. 10Jennifer Lopezborn 1969 · United States · Musicians3 decades
  11. 11Dwayne Johnsonborn 1972 · Canada · Actors1 decades
  12. 12Michael Schumacherborn 1969 · Germany · Athletes3 decades
  13. 13Jennifer Anistonborn 1969 · United States · Actors2 decades
  14. 14Heath Ledger1979-2008 · Australia · Actors2 decades
  15. 15Pamela Andersonborn 1967 · Canada · Actors3 decades
  16. 16Ben Affleckborn 1972 · United States · Actors2 decades
  17. 17Julia Robertsborn 1967 · United States · Actors3 decades
  18. 18Cameron Diazborn 1972 · United States · Actors3 decades
  19. 19Gwyneth Paltrowborn 1972 · United States · Actors3 decades
  20. 20Will Smithborn 1968 · United States · Actors3 decades
  21. 21Jason Stathamborn 1967 · United Kingdom · Actors0 decades
  22. 22Mark Carneyborn 1965 · Canada · Politicians1 decades
  23. 23Celine Dionborn 1968 · Canada · Musicians1 decades
  24. 24Winona Ryderborn 1971 · United States · Actors3 decades
  25. 25Adam Sandlerborn 1966 · United States · Actors2 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.