215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1900-1999

The 20th century

Whose names filled the books of the 20th 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 Hebrew books during the 20th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Rav Ashi352-427 · 4th century16
  2. 2Ahad Ha'am1856-1927 · 19th century · Russia · Writers12
  3. 3Haggaiborn 550 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures12
  4. 4Sabbatai Zevi1626-1676 · 17th century · Turkey · Religious Figures8.2
  5. 5Saadia Gaon882-942 · 10th century · Academics8.1
  6. 6Johanan ben Zakai50 BC-70 · 1st millennium BC5.5
  7. 7Josephus37-100 · 1st century · Writers5.5
  8. 8Habakkuk626 BC-600 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures5.3
  9. 9Hai Gaon939-1038 · 10th century · Writers4.8
  10. 10Simeon ben Gamliel IIborn 100 · 2nd century4.8
  11. 11Menachem Begin1913-1992 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians4.4
  12. 12Nathan the Babylonianborn 101 · 2nd century3.8
  13. 13Shimon Peres1923-2016 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.6
  14. 14Paul the Apostle5-66 · 1st century · Turkey · Writers3.3
  15. 15Samuel ibn Naghrillah993-1055 · 11th century · Writers3.2
  16. 16Moshe Dayan1915-1981 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.2
  17. 17Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg1150-1217 · 12th century · Academics3.1
  18. 18Hillel the Elder50 BC-100 · 1st millennium BC3.1
  19. 19Simeon ben Zomadied 200 · 2nd century2.8
  20. 20Judas Maccabeus500 BC-160 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures2.7
  21. 21Yitzhak Rabin1922-1995 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians2.7
  22. 22Golda Meir1898-1978 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians2.6
  23. 23Yanaiborn 600 · 7th century · Writers2.5
  24. 24Moshe Sharett1894-1965 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians2.2
  25. 25Isaac Abrabanel1437-1508 · 15th century · Academics2.1
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 20th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Werner Herzogborn 1942 · Germany · Directors6 decades
  2. 2Leni Riefenstahl1902-2003 · Germany · Directors9 decades
  3. 3Wim Wendersborn 1945 · Germany · Directors5 decades
  4. 4Roland Emmerichborn 1955 · Germany · Directors3 decades
  5. 5Fritz Lang1890-1976 · Germany · Directors9 decades
  6. 6Rainer Werner Fassbinder1945-1982 · Germany · Directors5 decades
  7. 7Wolfgang Petersen1941-2022 · Germany · Directors4 decades
  8. 8Pina Bausch1940-2009 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  9. 9F. W. Murnau1888-1931 · Germany · Directors4 decades
  10. 10Ernst Lubitsch1892-1947 · Germany · Directors8 decades
  11. 11Volker Schlöndorffborn 1939 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  12. 12Lotte Reiniger1899-1981 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  13. 13Bernd Eichinger1949-2011 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  14. 14Christian Petzoldborn 1960 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  15. 15Margarethe von Trottaborn 1942 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  16. 16Douglas Sirk1897-1987 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  17. 17Christoph Schlingensief1960-2010 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  18. 18Doris Dörrieborn 1955 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  19. 19Rosa von Praunheim1942-2025 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  20. 20Michael Verhoeven1938-2024 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  21. 21Bernhard Grzimek1909-1987 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  22. 22Wolfgang Wagner1919-2010 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  23. 23Helmut Dietl1944-2015 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  24. 24Robert Siodmak1900-1973 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
  25. 25Veit Harlan1899-1964 · Germany · Directorsnot measured-
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.