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 French books during the 2000s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Voltaire1694-1778 · 18th century · France · Writers23
  2. 2Louis XIV of France1638-1715 · 17th century · France · Historical Figures12
  3. 3Molière1622-1673 · 17th century · France · Writers8.7
  4. 4Stendhal1783-1842 · 19th century · France · Writers8.4
  5. 5Montesquieu1689-1755 · 18th century · France · Academics8.2
  6. 6Victor Hugo1802-1885 · 19th century · France · Writers7.7
  7. 7Jacques Chirac1932-2019 · 20th century · France · Politicians7.5
  8. 8François Mitterrand1916-1996 · 20th century · France · Politicians6.1
  9. 9Nicolas Sarkozyborn 1955 · 20th century · France · Politicians4.9
  10. 10Louis XVI of France1754-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures4.8
  11. 11Louis XV of France1710-1774 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures4.6
  12. 12George Sand1804-1876 · 19th century · France · Writers4.4
  13. 13Napoleon III1808-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians3.7
  14. 14Jules Verne1828-1905 · 19th century · France · Writers3.4
  15. 15Lionel Jospin1937-2026 · 20th century · France · Politicians3.3
  16. 16Georges Pompidou1911-1974 · 20th century · France · Politicians3.2
  17. 17Joan of Arc1412-1431 · 15th century · France3.1
  18. 18François Fénelon1651-1715 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures3.0
  19. 19Le Corbusier1887-1965 · 20th century · Switzerland · Architects2.9
  20. 20Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor1500-1558 · 16th century · Historical Figures2.9
  21. 21André Breton1896-1966 · 20th century · France · Writers2.8
  22. 22Michel Foucault1926-1984 · 20th century · France · Academics2.8
  23. 23Pierre Bourdieu1930-2002 · 20th century · France · Academics2.7
  24. 24Roland Barthes1915-1980 · 20th century · France · Academics2.7
  25. 25André Gide1869-1951 · 20th century · France · Writers2.7
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.