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. 1Erwin Rommel1891-1944 · Germany · Historical Figures8 decades
  2. 2Erich von Manstein1887-1973 · Germany · Historical Figures7 decades
  3. 3Friedrich Paulus1890-1957 · Germany · Historical Figures7 decades
  4. 4Gerd von Rundstedt1875-1953 · Germany · Historical Figures6 decades
  5. 5Klaus Barbie1913-1991 · Germany · Historical Figures4 decades
  6. 6Erich Hartmann1922-1993 · Germany · Historical Figures4 decades
  7. 7Wilhelm Canaris1887-1945 · Germany · Historical Figures8 decades
  8. 8Walter Model1891-1945 · Germany · Historical Figures3 decades
  9. 9Fedor von Bock1880-1945 · Germany · Historical Figures3 decades
  10. 10Ferdinand I of Romania1865-1927 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  11. 11Alexandra Feodorovna1872-1918 · Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
  12. 12Günther von Kluge1882-1944 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  13. 13Walther von Reichenau1884-1942 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  14. 14Dietrich von Choltitz1894-1966 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  15. 15Paul Hausser1880-1972 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  16. 16Prince Claus of the Netherlands1926-2002 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  17. 17Gotthard Heinrici1886-1971 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  18. 18Wilhelm List1880-1971 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  19. 19Kurt Meyer1910-1961 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  20. 20Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin1879-1952 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  21. 21Ananda Mahidol1925-1946 · Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
  22. 22Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick1887-1953 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  23. 23Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha1878-1942 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  24. 24Friedrich August III of Saxony1865-1932 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  25. 25Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine1868-1937 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot 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.